School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) as a Catalyst for Enhancing Teachers Pedagogy Aspect in Malaysia

The School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) programmed in Malaysia has been in operation since 2012 and is a part of the professional education team in all districts in Malaysia that helps teachers through their coaches. According to the District Transformation Programmed 3.0 (DTP 3.0), the role of SISC+ is underpinned by knowledge and skills in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment aspects. The aim of this study was therefore to identify the level of competence of SISC+ in the field of pedagogy. This study em-ployed a descriptive design. The data has been collected via a series of ques-tionnaires distributed nationally to 118 ICs and analyzed with version 23 of SPSS. The study used descriptive statistics with frequency, mean score, standard deviation and percentage. The results have demonstrated that Pedagogical Knowledge SISC+ competency has a mean score of 4.63, sd = 0.469, at a high level. The results of this study show that SISC+ is competent and know-ledgeable on the pedagogical aspects of the subject. The results of this study give insight on the capabilities of SISC+ in teaching coaches in schools and in the practice of teaching and teaching of quality (T&L). Furthermore, teachers interacted and defined the challenges in the school and social environment. It is therefore recognized that the programmed SISC+ needs to be properly un-derstood and recognized by schools and educational institutions in order to achieve its objective of supporting teachers. Physical spaces and collaboration possibilities can improve the achievements of the coaches. The originality and value of


Abstract
The School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) programmed in Malaysia has been in operation since 2012 and is a part of the professional education team in all districts in Malaysia that helps teachers through their coaches. According to the District Transformation Programmed 3.0 (DTP 3.0), the role of SISC+ is underpinned by knowledge and skills in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment aspects. The aim of this study was therefore to identify the level of competence of SISC+ in the field of pedagogy. This study employed a descriptive design. The data has been collected via a series of questionnaires distributed nationally to 118 ICs and analyzed with version 23 of SPSS. The study used descriptive statistics with frequency, mean score, standard deviation and percentage. The results have demonstrated that Pedagogical Knowledge SISC+ competency has a mean score of 4.63, sd = 0.469, at a high level. The results of this study show that SISC+ is competent and knowledgeable on the pedagogical aspects of the subject. The results of this study give insight on the capabilities of SISC+ in teaching coaches in schools and in the practice of teaching and teaching of quality (T&L). Furthermore, teachers interacted and defined the challenges in the school and social environment. It is therefore recognized that the programmed SISC+ needs to be properly understood and recognized by schools and educational institutions in order to achieve its objective of supporting teachers. Physical spaces and collaboration possibilities can improve the achievements of the coaches. The originality and value of the research is the first such research in Malaysia to explore the skills and experiences of coaches who are actively involved in the teacher instructional coaching programmed. The authority must therefore provide support and cooperation so as to ensure that SISC+ remains capable of providing teachers with good quality coaching. How to cite this paper: Balang, N. J., Mahamod, Z., & Buang, N. A. (2020)

Introduction
The education sector in Malaysia has had a fair share of reform measures. Many initiatives are often multi-faceted and aimed at transforming the education landscape by means of Malaysian Blue Print Education 2013-2025. The initiative was aimed at improving the results of teachers and students. Recently, an increased emphasis has been placed on educator improvements in their overall instruction and practice qualities, leading to better outcomes for students. The continued, consistent, integrated work and relevant professional learning opportunities leading to positive teacher outcomes are a challenge that school leaders should accept and take as an important responsibility (Deussen, Coskie, Robinson, & Autio, 2018;Ahmad et al., 2016, Rinaldi, 2013. Knight (2017) found that there was significant improvement in teaching practice as teachers gained their expertise in the subject content, teaching strategies and the management of other key elements of teaching through the development of the professionalism of teachers. In this regard, the quality of teachers' teaching and learning will improve with coaching and mentoring programmes by

Research Objective
One objective and one research issue to be addressed in this research, which is: To identify SISC+ competency in the aspects of pedagogy knowledge and the

SISC+ Programme
School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) or also known as Instructional Coaches (ICs) programme was introduced in 2012 to support teachers by coaching to improve T&L in the classroom (Jusoh & Zamri, 2016;Hobson, 2016). The instructional coach who works with coaching teachers plays the same role in other countries, in order to make T&L more efficient and exciting (Knight, 2017;Joyce & Shower, 2010;Torres, 2014). The role of SISC+, according to the District Transformation Programme 3.0, coaches teachers for pedagogical skills, leading and monitored implementation effectiveness and encompasses responsibility for new curricula and latest pedagogy in the classroom. The first outcome determines the SISC+ where each District Education Office will be empowered to customise the help required by the schools, including the recruitment of full-time teacher coaches. SISC+ will guide and support teachers in low-level schools. The introduction of SISC+ is intended to reduce the number of levels involved in curricula and pedagogical delivery and to provide teachers with continuous processional development (CPDs) (Ali, Wahi, & Yamat, 2018 (Knight, 2017;Aguilar, 2013).  Table 2 shows the frequency and percentage scores for each item for the recognition of SISC+ competence levels in the pedagogical dimension calculated by twenty-three items. The results showed that all thirteen items had high scores. The results of this survey showed that item C1, "Guide guided teacher writing well for learning objectives" had a mean of 4.64 and a standard deviation of 0.517 whereas item C18, "'Guiding Guided Teacher', Predicting the Impact of Evidence-Based Action and Designing Appropriate Interventions", had a mean of 4.41 and a standard deviation of 0.682. Overall, the scores indicate that SISC + competency level in pedagogy (mean = 4.55, SP = 0.491) among respondents was high.

Discussion
The results indicate that SISC+ competence in the field of pedagogy is high. It confirms the results of the research conducted by Jusoh & Zamri (2016), which SISC+ specializes in providing guidance to teachers in the fields of pedagogy suited to 21st century education needs. Researching the expectations found in the MEB (2013-2025) claimed that this country's education should be able to produce students with thinking skills, leadership skills, awareness, bilingual skills, ethics and spirituality and national identity. A coach, who is effective in guiding teachers in developing successful day-to-day teaching plans, says     Norhasma & Nurahimah, 2019;Said, Brahim, & Sabil, 2016), as this is the "key" to the success of a SISC+ that can result in successful feedback on teaching quality and student achievement.
It is advisable that the teachers trained to cooperate fully to improve the quality of the teachings in the aim of strengthening the internal professionalism of SISC+. Teachers are therefore encouraged to accept the views and opinions of teaching professionals. The willingness to teach is a key element in ensuring synergies between SISC+ and teachers, according to Balang, N, Mahamod, and Buang (2019). This is consistent with Allen, Pianta, Gregory, Mikami & Lun (2011) who states that their willingness to accept several aspects of guidance particularly in recent pedagogy, such as using technology in their lessons, is the basis for a success in teacher coaching.
In addition to the research conducted by (Teemant et al., 2011), SISC+ is required to constantly build autonomous support in the latest pedagogy to effectively guide teachers in order to obtain teacher confidence. A major aspect of SISC+ is to help teachers write lesson plans effectively every day and to evaluate aspects of the strengths and weaknesses of teachers (Tshabalala, 2013). Futhermore, Ware & Kitsanis (2015) clarified that one of the reasons for the lack of trust of teachers in instructional coaches is the lack of expertise in pedagogy content knowledge (Borman & Feger, 2006).
Teachers and school variables are essential measures of enhancing the synergy of SISC+. The SISC+ Professional Learning Community (PLC) and teachers should be able to form collaborative and trusting academic teams. Teachers should collaborate with SISC+ for guidance (Gill, Kostiw, & Stone, 2010). A good relationship would build resilience between SISC+ and teachers. As far as pedagogy is concerned, the SISC+ dimension will direct teachers to be more positive about the quality of information, the use of technology in teaching (Aguilar, 2011). A few SISC+ have not mastered the contents pedagogy of the topic (Williams, 2017). This finding reinforces the claim that teachers who still have phobia, fears or negatives accept change because they prefer to rely on the old methods of textbooks, books or written materials on white boards alone (Tofade, 2010 To make SISC+ more effective, it is important that SISC+ not only enhances its coaching capabilities, but also enhances its standing as an instructor, quality of the information, master's technology and professional teaching methods, masters pedagogical fitness, self-directed professionals, learning interests and questioning skills (Torres, 2014). SISC+ studies are crucial to enrich the wealth of instructional coaching. The overall role of the study is to form a foundation for education, teachers, schools, education ministries, parents and communities to remain steadfast, and continuously search for ideas and solutions to the excellent education system (Hobson, 2016).

Conclusion
Education has a hard future and needs to be rigorous, systemic and holistic.
Collaborative efforts between educators and all stakeholders are therefore imperative to mobilize for student benefit. Whilst the impact of SISC+ coaching is shown to improve T&L quality, the stakeholders should always provide support and opportunities for SISC+ to provide different courses, workshops and improve the coaching quality. SISC+ is not a simple job as it requires a long and clear way to shift teacher's attitudes and perceptions. The SISC+ programme therefore needs to continue improving teaching quality in classrooms (Desimone, 2016;Williams, 2017;Balang, Mahamod & Buang, 2019).
Since this study was a descriptive analysis, further research is required to better explain what coaches need to learn and be able to do while communicating with teachers. The drawback of our study is that it has only been tested through the survey. Additional research is required to analyse and expand on our results while examining specifically how a good pedagogy can affect teachers' T&L.