Browsing by Author "Sarinajit Kaur"
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- PublicationMetadata onlyFactors associated with staff perceptions towards inclusive education in SingaporeIn this study, we sought to examine the perceptions of teachers and other school professionals towards the inclusion of secondary school students with special educational needs (SEN), and the associated factors. The Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised scale (SACIE-R) was completed by 131 teachers and school professionals from two mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. The findings revealed an overall neutral attitude towards inclusion. Together, confidence in teaching students with SEN, the level of training SEN support, as well as experience teaching students with SEN account for a large proportion of the variance in ratings of inclusive perceptions. Further analyses revealed that confidence in teaching or supporting students with SEN was found to be a significant predictor of inclusive perceptions. The findings suggest that schools seeking to engage in inclusive practices should focus on ways to develop the confidence of personnel to support students with SEN. Professional development and mentorship were suggested as possible avenues.
64 - PublicationOpen AccessParental perspectives and challenges in inclusive education in Singapore(2015)
; ; ;Sarinajit KaurNg, Zi JiaRelatively little work has focused on inclusive education in Singapore. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children with disabilities are attending mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. Data was drawn from interviews with 13 parents of children with mild disabilities. Our findings reveal that parental perspective on inclusive education in Singapore is not only about classroom support but also reflects a deeper concern about whether their children with disabilities will emerge from school as contributing individuals in society. While parents strive to effectively include their children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, there were dichotomies in their (1) understanding of disabilities, (2) expectations of school support, and (3) expectations for their child with disabilities. Given that academic and social prowess is a critical prerequisite to have a shot at entering the meritocratic Singapore society, the tension parents experience is to gauge a reasonable amount of pressure to exert on their children, the school and themselves as they assert their children's educational entitlements within an imperfect but evolving state of inclusion.WOS© Citations 29 866 5529Scopus© Citations 35 - PublicationOpen AccessReading for pleasure: Whose job is it to build lifelong readers in the classroom?(2018)
;Bacsal, Myra Garces ;Tupas, T. Ruanni F. ;Sarinajit Kaur ;Paculdar, AgnesBaja, Emmanuel S.A survey questionnaire was administered to 146 MEd students enrolled in a teacher-training institute in Singapore to determine the strategies they use to promote engaged reading in the classroom. The majority of the teacher respondents when asked how they motivate students to read, wrote down Not Applicable, and 38% were unable to write down strategies to promote engaged reading. However, the results further indicate that even the non-devoted readers amongst them were able to identify sound literacy instructional strategies. This paper argues that the desirability of lifelong reading and the need for teachers to be accountable for its promotion should be culturally positioned within locally shaped realities and perceived from within the unique configuration of the results-driven context of the Singaporean educational landscape.WOS© Citations 15Scopus© Citations 21 156 541 - PublicationRestrictedReading lives and practices of Singapore teachers and the use of multicultural children’s literature to promote socio-emotional learning(Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Singapore, 2020)
;Bacsal, Myra Garces ;Tupas, T. Ruanni F. ;Sarinajit KaurPaculdar, AgnesHow do teachers navigate the pedagogical possibilities of multicultural picturebooks in their own classrooms to introduce social and emotional learning competencies? To what extent do teachers’ reading lives and practices inform their instructional strategies in the classroom? These are broad questions which this research project aimed to explore and answer. The educational landscape in Singapore is changing whereby the diversity in student population is evident in as much as 39 different nationalities seen in a popular primary school (Forss, 2007). This is where the use of multicultural literature can be seen as critical in addressing multiculturalism in school (Seto, 2003; Sims Bishop, 2003).
Meanwhile, the teachers’ pivotal role in the development of reading lives among their students is a fact that has been underscored for instance by Gambrell (1996) and Miller (2009) who posit that teachers who are passionate readers and who deliberately extend the range of their reading materials beyond those required by the formal curriculum out of innate personal enthusiasm, play an effective and crucial role in engendering a similar passion and interest among their students towards pleasure reading, thus reinforcing similar values and habits towards reading which have been made observable to students.
A number of studies likewise point to the linkage between good reading practices and its bearing on student performance, specifically the ways in which teachers who demonstrate and exemplify good reading practices contribute positively on student achievement (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000).
However, an alarming aliteracy has been raised by Frager (1987) among teachers. This indicates the fact that despite the reading skills and availability of resources, some teachers choose not to read even if they can. Loh’s (2009) study of the deployment of silent reading practices in one primary school in Singapore clearly shows that while teachers acknowledge the importance of reading and its impact on learning in general, they do not act as role models of reading. Kwek, Albright and Kramer-Dahl (2007) also find that some teachers involved in their pedagogical intervention project in secondary schools in Singapore have limited repertoires of reading. There is thus a clear need for capacity building among teachers, which is compounded by the fact that the context within which teachers operate have become more complex culturally and ideologically.155 12 - PublicationOpen AccessReading lives and practices of Singapore teachers and the use of multicultural children’s literature to promote socio-emotional learning(National Institute of Education (Singapore), 2017)
;Bacsal, Myra Garces ;Tupas, T. Ruanni F.Sarinajit Kaur193 162 - PublicationRestrictedSupporting students with special needs in secondary schools: a study of perspective, practices, and support structures(2011-08)
; ; ;Sarinajit Kaur ;Khaw, JoanneNg, Zi Jia"This study sought to understand how students with mild disabilities are supported in Singapore mainstream schools."-page 14.402 227