Master of Arts

When exploring complex global issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, interdisciplinary art can provide a multitude of perspectives and open up new hypotheses. Yet little is known about the artmaking processes, ontology, and how its epistemic values facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and integration. How do these processes embody reflexivity, and what role may art play? This thesis presents the results of a study that aimed to develop guidelines for interdisciplinary collaboration in visual art. The thesis focuses on the lived experiences of artist Zen Teh and scientist Dr Ching Jianhong during the process of their interdisciplinary collaboration, which is used as a case study to examine reflexive thoughts and processes that are often elusive and difficult to capture. The research outcomes – a conceptual frame, a framework of interdisciplinary integration, and a set of key qualities – provide philosophical and methodological guides for conducting interdisciplinary collaboration in visual art. This paper serves as a valuable reference for interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners, and has potential pedagogical applications for teachers.

The consonant /r/ in the English language possesses a variety of allophones, the most common being the post-alveolar approximant [R]. Amongst these allophones is a variant commonly described as a labiodental approximant and represented by the symbol, [√]. It has received much attention in the study of phonology in British English and is a feature whose existence is not only acknowledged by speakers of British English but has also, traditionally, been viewed with negative connotations of defective speech, infantilism, effeminate speech and affectation. However, the labiodental approximant [√] seems to be a feature common in the speech of young adults. In recent times, there also appears to be a dichotomy in attitudes towards this feature as it becomes ‘established as an acceptable feature of mature speech in non-standard accents in the south-east of England’ (Foulkes & Docherty, 2000: 30). This feature, however, has not received the same amount of attention in research done on pronunciation in Singapore English. Deterding (2007) and Kwek (2005) reported the existence of the labiodental approximant [√] in the speech of some young speakers of Singapore English, presenting preliminary findings of its existence and attitudes of Singaporeans towards the use of this variant of /r/.

This study aims to further substantiate previous claims by providing acoustic evidence that the labiodental approximant [√], a variant distinct from the more common post-alveolar approximant [R], is indeed present in Singapore English. It also provides further auditory analysis of the phonological environments and users of this variant. In addition, it suggests a detailed plan for further investigation of not only the labiodental approximant [√] but also other phenomena of /r/ in Singapore English. The acoustic analyses showed that the labiodental approximant [√] is present in Singapore English and how it can be differentiated by the comparisons of the nadir values of the third formants as well as the calculations of third formant rises at the onset of the following vowels. However, it should be noted that auditory analysis is an important consideration in order to provide a clearer picture of the labiodental approximant [√] in Singapore English. The auditory analysis showed that young speakers of Singapore English use both the labiodental approximant [√] as well as the post-alveolar approximant [R]. Findings suggest that the labiodental approximant [√] is used more by female speakers and it tends to appear more in informal speech. The labiodental approximant [√] was found to be used in three environments – word-/syllable-initially, intervocalically and most commonly in word-/syllable-initial consonant clusters. It also appears to be followed, most frequently, by back rounded vowels. By way of conclusion, suggestions for further research are then given.

Multiculturalism plays an important part in how people think about and organise society, interact with and experience cultural diversity. Increasing diversification brought about by greater and easier movement of people across national boundaries and growing use of social media has amplified the multicultural characteristic of contemporary societies, shaping multiculturalism narratives differently in every society. Hence, governments are constantly seeking policy response to the challenges of increasing diversities in contemporary societies—one of which is through education. As one such major policy response, the National Education programme launched in 1997 focuses on nation building and given that Singapore is a self-described multiracial/multicultural society and that multiracialism is written into the Constitution at Singapore’s founding in 1965, serving as the core rationale for many policies, the importance of multiculturalism and its place in the National Education programme is thus not unexpected.

This study is an attempt at examining and understanding adolescents’ perspectives on multiculturalism, which have been largely overlooked, in the context of Singapore’s National Education programme. Building on the theoretical work of Hartmann and Gerteis’ Two-dimensional Framework for Visions of Difference, this study reframed and expanded the framework, informed by literature on multiculturalism, into a Two-dimensional Framework for Multiculturalism Forms. The updated framework follows the two sociological dimensions of social cohesion and social integration. Using a qualitative interview approach, data collected from ten adolescent participants surfaced a total of 13 Multiculturalism Perspective Themes. Adolescent participants were chosen because they are the beneficiaries of multicultural education policies which prepare their entry into an increasingly multicultural society.

These findings show that adolescents’ multiculturalism perspectives indicate an individual-based interactive pluralist multiculturalism that is inclined towards intercultural interaction and deeper cultural understanding. A key finding is that social integration, and the consequent social harmony, is understood by the participating adolescents as a primarily individual responsibility, albeit disciplined and shaped by laws and norms. Multicultural issues are framed as the fault of the individual racist and/or culturally ignorant person. There is thus a certain blindness or ignorance of existing racial inequalities or injustice. The participants generally have a positive view of the state of multiculturalism in Singapore and expressed a preference to maintain the status quo of the Singaporean multiculturalism on a rationale of keeping the existing social harmony intact. There is an uncritical acceptance of the racial balance and unproblematic understanding of the ethnic Chinese demographic majority advantage. Furthermore, social cohesion is mainly understood by the participants as national cohesion in terms of the Singaporean identity comprising of the officially recognised CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others) multiracial model.

While schools and the National Education programme are credited for providing youth with experiential learning of other cultures and functioning as a safe platform for discussing multicultural issues, the National Education programme is still mainly seen as surface multicultural education. This suggests that adolescents felt that they are not adequately engaged in deeper and more frank conversations and discussions about multiculturalism in Singapore, hence their lack of relevant vocabulary and criticality of thought in addressing multicultural issues.

Pada tahun 2010, sebuah laporan semakan terhadap bahasa ibunda telah dijalankan oleh pihak Kementerian Pendidikan Singapura. Laporan Jawatankuasa Semakan Bahasa Ibunda mencatatkan peningkatan bagi penggunaan Bahasa Inggeris (BI) dalam kalangan pelajar Bahasa Melayu (BM) dan menjadi semakin dominan di rumah. Dalam konteks pembelajaran para pelajar Bahasa Melayu kini, wujud pola-pola kesalahan bahasa terutama dalam penulisan mereka. Hal ini terjadi ekoran kerapnya penggunaan BI daripada BM terutama di sekolah. Maka, pengkaji telah menerapkan Analisis Kontrastif (CA) dan Analisis Kesilapan (EA) yang bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti dan melakarkan pola-pola kesalahan morfo-sintaksis serta mengidentifikasikan sebab-musabab berlakunya kesilapan-kesilapan tersebut. Kajian deskriptif ini menggunakan pendekatan Analisis Kesilapan yang dipelopori oleh S. Pit Corder (1967). Data kajian diperoleh daripada 160 buah skrip karangan yang telah dikumpul daripada empat zon yang berbeza (iaitu lapan buah sekolah). Pengkaji menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif dan kualitatif bagi menganalisis data. Prosedur Palmberg (1980) juga telah diterapkan, di samping pengklasifikasian oleh Seet (1980) yang dijadikan dasar bagi Analisis Kesilapan. Tambahan pula, pengkaji menerapkan Teori Bahasa Tagmemik yang dipelopori oleh Kenneth L. Pike (dilihat dalam Chaiyanara, 2003) untuk memperlihatkan kegramatisan sesebuah ayat. Kajian awal pengkaji mendapati bahawa sebanyak 43.7% responden menggunakan BM dan campuran BI. Sebanyak 42.1% pula menggunakan BM sahaja di rumah. Baki 14.2% menggunakan bahasa ibunda mereka selain BM dan BI (contohnya Tagalog dan Kantonis). Secara keseluruhannya, data Analisis Kesilapan memperlihatkan jenis kesilapan morfologi mencatatkan peratusan tertinggi, iaitu sebanyak 46.2%. Hal ini diikuti pula oleh jenis kesilapan sintaksis (27.1%), grafologi (13.6%) dan leksikal (13.1%). Secara kesimpulannya, antara cadangan pengkaji bagi menarik minat para pelajar ialah mempelbagaikan teknik dan kaedah pengajaran. Dengan minat yang dibina, seseorang pelajar akan lebih tertarik untuk mempelajari BM dan sekaligus mengurangkan kadar kesalahan bahasa yang dilakukan.

Chapter 1 is the introduction of this research. Chapter 2 discusses past researches pertaining to this research. Theme structure models by Firbas and Halliday are discussed. Chapter 3 discusses the results of theme structure analysis in expository texts. Four aspects of theme structures are discussed. They are textual theme, interpersonal theme, element of topical theme and theme-rheme structure. The results show that some word classes in the Malay Language can function as textual theme and interpersonal theme in expository texts. As for the element of topical theme, all three elements are used. They are the participant, process and circumstance. As for themerheme structure, both unmarked and marked types are used. Chapter 4 discusses the results of theme structure analysis in narrative texts. All the aspects of theme structure in expository texts can also be found in narrative texts. Chapter 5 compares the results of theme structure analysis in expository texts and narrative texts. As textual theme, the number of subordinating conjunction that depicts object and anaphoric adverb that depicts manner in expository texts are found more often than in narrative texts. This is due to the nature of both genres. However, the number of temporal conjunction, adverb that depicts duration and anaphoric adverb that depicts time is found more often in narrative texts than expository texts. This is because of their association with the concept of time. In the case of interpersonal theme, only subordinating conjunction that depicts provision and temporal conjunction are used. Their roles as textual theme and interpersonal theme are discussed. Apart from that, the use of two types of adverbs; one that depicts frequency and the other that depicts obviousness as interpersonal theme and not textual theme are also discussed apart from comparing the number of times they appear in both genres. Only two types of anaphoric adverbs function as interpersonal theme. They depict opinion and probability. The number of anaphoric adverb that depicts opinion occurs more in expository texts as compared to narrative texts. This is because the writer’s viewpoint is included in expository texts. The use of interjection is expected in narrative texts because of the use of dialogue. In the case of the element of topical theme, there are more participant which are human, depicts institution or abstract in nature in expository texts as compared to narrative texts. This is due to the nature of expository texts, the role of various institutions in the texts and the use of nominalization by the writer. However, participant, which is non-living but concrete in nature and pronouns are found more often in narrative texts because of the inclusion of the writer’s feelings, emotions and the use of characters. In terms of process, there are more existential and behavioural in expository texts as compared to narrative texts. This is because of the nature of the texts and their emphasis on actions. However, there are more material and verbal processes in narrative texts because of the number of incidences and the use of dialogue. As for circumstance, the number of location and accompaniment are found more often in expository texts. This is due to the emphasis on locations and the nature of the texts. However, there are more time and extent in narrative texts because of their association with the concept of time. Chapter 6 discusses the summary of this research and probable researches in future.

Di dalam sesebuah bilik darjah, secara akaliah, guru menjadi pemegang kuasa. Guru menjadi penentu proses pembelajaran dan pengajaran yang akan berlaku di dalam sesebuah bilik darjah. Pengmanifestasian kekuasaan guru ini terlaksana melalui penggunaan wacana bilik darjah. Justeru itu, tujuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk melihat kehadiran fitur-fitur kuasa linguistik dalam wacana bilik darjah khususnya dalam matapelajaran Bahasa Melayu bagi pelajar aliran Normal Teknikal, dengan menggunakan pendekatan Analisis Wacana Kritis (Critical Discourse Analysis) Norman Fairclough (2001). Pelajar Normal Teknikal dipilih kerana profil mereka yang dikatakan amat mencabar. Analisis kuantitatif akan dijalankan ke atas teks kajian dan proses ini diikuti dengan analisis kualitatif yang juga akan menggunakan dapatan daripada borang soal-selidik pelajar dan wawancara guru. Dapatan-dapatan analisis kuantitatif dan kualitatif ini dapat memperlihatkan siapa yang berkuasa dalam bilik darjah matapelajaran Bahasa Melayu yang disebutkan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa jumlah kehadiran fitur kuasa linguistik guru adalah sebanyak 845 fitur (54%) dan di pihak pelajar, sebanyak 728 fitur (46%). Min kekuasaan bagi guru ialah 0.28 sementara di pihak pelajar, 0.24. Sungguhpun jumlah ini menunjukkan bahawa kuasa dipegang oleh guru, analisis kualitatif telah menunjukkan beberapa implikasi penting terhadap aspek pedagogi timbul dengan kewujudan kuasa di pihak pelajar. Dengan itu juga, kajian ini telah berjaya menjawab tujuan kajian utama iaitu memperlihatkan kuasa dalam wacana bilik darjah dan juga kuasa yang dipegang oleh guru serta implikasinya.

This study revisits Grice’s Cooperative Principle theory in generating the implied meaning of an utterance in a scripted dialogue through the flouting of the maxims of Relation, Manner, Quantity, and Quality. For this purpose, Harold Pinter’s play The Birthday Party has been chosen for analysis.

Even though, it is not always obvious which of the maxims flouted contributes more to the generation of the meaning, some patterns have been observed especially in flouting of the maxims of Relation and Quantity.

The difference between men and women in using language as suggested by many is also evident in this study. While men flout more maxims than women, women are better at observing politeness compared to men.

About 5000 Secondary 2 students from all secondary schools in Singapore, together with their principals and Mathematics and Science teachers, participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999. Extending beyond the methodology used and the TIMSS-related findings reported for Singapore in previous studies, this within-country secondary analysis of Singapore's TIMSS 1999 data employed 2-level hierarchical linear modelling to determine the student-level and classroom-level predictors of Mathematics and Science achievement and to ascertain their relative influences on student achievement.

At the student level, this study found that students' perceptions of their competence in Mathematics/Science, their interest in Mathematics and their beliefs in the efficacy of Science predicted their achievement in these subjects positively, even after controlling for other predictors. This suggests that beyond students' socio-economic status which is less malleable to teachers' influence, teachers can foster students' beliefs that their competence in the subject is changeable and under their control, stimulate students' interest in the subject and show students the connections between Science as taught in the classroom and its real-world applications so as to enhance student achievement in these subjects.

At the classroom level, aggregated socio-economic status was the strongest positive predictor of both Mathematics and Science achievement, accounting for over half of the between-classroom variance in each case. This indicates that in the Singapore context, what classmates a student studies with in his/her class appears to be more important than what family he/she comes from in predicting his/her Mathematics and Science achievement. Teachers' emphasis on classroom practices involving homework in Mathematics/Science and their assignment of extended type of Mathematics homework also predicted achievement in these subjects positively, after controlling for other predictors. This suggests that the way teachers treat homework and the type of homework they assign to students are critical for student achievement.

This study also noted certain features of TIMSS 1999's design which constrain within-country multilevel secondary analyses of its data. To open up a richer array of research possibilities for future TIMSS secondary analyses, future TIMSS studies could select students from more classrooms per school so that 3-level hierarchical linear models examining both classroom and school effects within participating countries can be specified. A longitudinal research design or a pre- and post-test design could also be adopted to increase the power of analysis for teacher or instructional effects. More critically, to improve the quality of scales arising from secondary analyses of TIMSS data, future TIMSS studies could draw on established theoretical frameworks of educational effectiveness to guide the operationalisation of more valid and reliable explanatory factors of student achievement.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate certain aspects that influence the quality of tone produced on the modern classical guitar. I have therefore titled this thesis: Analysis Of Tone Production In The Modern Classical Guitar.

The research undertaken may be divided into the following categories:

i) understanding the difference between the terms tone, sound and noise

ii) the historical background related to the luthiers and performers throughout the development of the guitar

iii) a comparison and examination between three differently valued guitars made by the same manufacturers

iv) an understanding of the importance of the fingers of the right hand - the shape, maintenance, application and the effect they have on tone production

v) the different characteristics and tone color produced by the modern classical guitar

For an in-depth knowledge and better understanding in this research, tests were carried out in the laboratory using sonogram meters, I have included two classroom questionnaires and finally two interviews: one with the luthier Paul Fisher and the other with professional guitarist John Mills.

The syncretic fusion of Western and non-Western musical elements along with their underlying aesthetics have been one significant compositional process since the twentieth century, adopted not only by certain Western composers, but also by the group of China-born “New-Wave” composers. This study examines aspects of this East-West fusion as found in two contrasting erhu rhapsodies (Erhu Rhapsody Nos. 1 and 4) by one such New-Wave composer, Wang Jian Min (b. 1956). His set of four erhu rhapsodies composed across a timespan of more than two decades, occupies pivotal positions in contemporary erhu repertoire and has been credited for its high artistic value and wide popularity within the Chinese music circle. In view of the unique social, political and cultural landscape of twentieth-century China, which has greatly impacted and shaped the compositional philosophies and sense of identity of these New- Wave composers including Wang, chapter one provides an overview of China’s twentieth-century concepts of ‘aesthetics’ (as distinct from those exhibited by ancient philosophical schools), and main musical influences arising from the period of the communist revolution (1949-1976). This overview then serves as a backdrop for the illustration of Wang’s compositional philosophy, and explication of his syncretic approach towards the conception and construction of his erhu rhapsodies.

Chapters two and three focus on Wang’s first and fourth erhu rhapsodies respectively, investigating the paradoxical dialectic between individual creativity and the (re)presentation of Chinese folk and traditional musical idioms in his work. In explicating this interaction of disparate traditions (folk, traditional and contemporary idioms), this thesis adopts an eclectic approach involving both Western analytical lenses and traditional Chinese music-theoretic perspectives. In particular, it examines Wang’s choice and treatment of pitch materials through various compositional devices, as well as compare the different manners in which these folk-inspired materials are being rendered in the two rhapsodies. Interpretation of the rhapsodies’ structural design will be informed by the Western notion of ‘rhapsody’ and the Chinese ban-shi (板式) layout. In this connection, the structural significance and ‘problems’ of the four ad lib. passages (inspired by the Chinese san-ban element) in both rhapsodies will be addressed. Additionally, this study proposes and illustrates through chapters two and three the possibilities of using set-theoretic labels as well as neo-Schenkerian tools to better explicate the cohabitation of both tonal and non-tonal elements (in part inspired by the folk materials) in Wang’s harmonic style, which in turn shed light on Wang’s large-scale structural layout.

Chapter four synthesizes analytical insights from previous chapters to highlight the pertinent distinctions in Wang’s approaches towards realizing the folk-derived materials in the first and fourth erhu rhapsodies. This study then sums up how Wang manages to assimilate and combine the two disparate musical thinking from the Chinese and Western traditions, putting into perspective Wang’s evolving compositional voice, as well as demonstrating how Wang still manages to maintain the balance between Western contemporary techniques (which could potentially alienate listeners) and certain traditional aesthetics.

随着全球联系不断加强，各国各民族各地区经济发展的同时，文化、意识形 态、价值观念等方面的影响也不断深入。中国在世界上的影响力与日俱增，学习 中文和中国文化的人也愈来愈多。受国际关系的影响，近年海外中文教育发展的 脚步缓慢。但是，国际课程教育发展愈发完善，其中IBDP 和AP 课程教育理念、 课程框架、评估模式都独具一格，且这两种课程均为高中课程，参与其考试且具 有分数优势的学生可以为大学本科的申请增加优势，IBDP 和AP 选择中文作为第 二语言学习的学生越来越多。通过IB 中文B（SL）测试和AP 中国语言与文化测 试的对比研究，分析两种语言测试的特点和异同，提出修改建议。

现当代小说教学在H2 华文与文学课程中有着重要的地位。在传统的现当代小说教学中，采用了以教师为中心的教学方法，小说纯文本分析的比重较大，使得课堂教学氛围较为沉闷，学生学习效率也大大降低。而反观当下社会，电视、电影、移动互联网已经渗透到人们的日常生活之中。影视资源集多种图文、声像于一体，生动逼真，寓教于乐，容易引起高中生的学习兴趣。因而笔者认为，将影视资源应用于现当代小说教学，是一次有益的尝试。

本文主要从以下四个部分，对影视资源在现当代小说教学的应用展开讨论：第一部分主要针对影视资源的基本概况展开论述。针对影视资源论述其内涵、特点、实用价值，以及短视频时代下影视资源的新生态。第二部分主要论述影视资源应用于现当代小说教学的哲学基础理论。第三部分，基于前人的研究、笔者的教学实习，对新加坡现当代小说的教学现状进行了论述，并提出了影视资源应用于现当代小说教学的改进策略。论文的第四部分，以短篇小说《药》、《一把青》为例，提出了影视资源在现当代小说教学中的具体应用方法。

本地学生在学习华文的过程中，因受英语影响而出现的欧化表达，或是因词汇量贫瘠而出现词不达意，甚或是对中文的句式掌握不佳，而写出了许多病句。这些早已是不争之实。这些语言问题，无论是在日常口语上，或是在书面表达上，都为语言老师带来诸多困扰。西方教育界在教导非英语为母语的学生时，其实也面对类似问题。于是，自20 世纪初始，西方学者提出“词串”与“程式”理论，以解决上举问题。研究者把这两个概念融入到二语及外语教学中，经多次实验，取得极佳的验证效果。

不过，因教学对象不同，我们无法将上举理论的操作方法，完全照搬来使用。有鉴于此，本文利用上举理论为新加坡学生编写的学习配套，做了适当的修正及调正。本文利用这样的一套结合小学教材《欢乐伙伴》所设计的写段教学配套，通过前后测对比，验证这两套理论对本地小学三年级学生写段落，是否能同样取得效果？实验结果显示，“词串”与“程式”理论的使用，有助于提升学生的写段能力，甚至改善学生对写段落的心态。多数学生及家长均认为，“词串”及“程式”所设计及编写的写作配套，对写出内容完整、表达通顺的段落，助益匪浅，值得推介。

The dissertation explores the use of drama as pedagogy in the English Language classroom. With so many schools (Wales and Gilmer, 2012) grappling with using drama effectively in the language classroom and given the demands in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies a teacher requires in order to engage the art form for learning, the study evaluates the effectiveness of the training employed by three schools to support their teachers in the use of drama pedagogy. It includes considerations for schools and institutions (e.g. The English Language Institute of Singapore, The National Arts Council, Singapore Drama Educators Association) that wish to employ drama teacher trainers in both Drama and English as well as provide insights for future training conducted by the Curriculum Planning & Development Division (English Language) at the Ministry of Education, for their English teachers.

It documents the work of three teachers in three case studies as they employ drama for English Language teaching and learning. It employs an ethnographic approach to highlight the successes, challenges and struggles of teachers in the use of drama pedagogy and to illustrate how the teachers’ passion, beliefs, knowledge and skills shape the way they use drama.

It compares the different ways drama is used in the three classrooms and reveals how teachers’ perceptions of what characterises a ‘drama-based’ classroom affect the effective use of drama pedagogy in their classrooms.

It shows that where drama is used superficially in the classroom, it does little for student learning and student agency in learning. Its findings emphasise the need for schools and institutions to broaden their understanding of drama when employing it as a pedagogy.

This study seeks to contribute to the growing literature on academic discourses by probing into a relatively new reading-to-write examination genre featured in the Singapore Cambridge Advanced level General Paper comprehension. The recently introduced Application Question, aimed at producing more critical thinkers, makes an array of new linguistic and rhetorical demands on students taking the General Paper. The aim of this study is to grant local junior-college students, and GP teachers, both new as well as experienced ones, a better understanding of the question requirements. The study does so by unveiling the many hidden expectations in the AQ response genre through the lens of Systemic Functional Linguistics, APPRAISAL and genre theory.

In order to shed light on the linguistic resources that students draw on to display their evaluative faculties, the use of APPRAISAL resources in two sets of six AQ responses each, one comprised of highly-rated texts, and the other average ones, are subject to a detailed investigation. Both sets of texts are examined for patterns in their reliance on firstly, ATTITUDE resources, capturing assessments of an evaluative orientation in the AQ texts, and secondly, ENGAGEMENT, which captures how student-writers present their own opinions alongside those of others in the AQ response genre. Finally, patterns in the occurrence of APPRAISAL resources in relation to genre stages are also examined and reported. While quantitative analysis of the ATTITUDE features show the student-writers of the two sets of texts to (surprisingly) draw on the same resources, differences emerge when the sets of texts are studied for ENGAGEMENT resources. Further, qualitative findings suggest that the occurrence of APPRAISAL resources at the more strategic points in the construction of the text is crucial to success in the Application Question. These findings have major implications for the teaching and assessment of the Application Question, as well as suggest avenues for further research.

Educational researchers typically administer knowledge tests comprising of conventional assessment formats (i.e., multiple-choice, true/false or open-ended questions) to determine the effects of an instructional intervention. However, there are three main issues with using these conventional assessment formats: (1) conventional assessment formats like multiple-choice and true/false questions tend to require recognition of the correct answer which leads to guessing effects, as such many items are needed to achieve adequate levels of reliability, (2) educational researchers often face time constraints when administering these tests in a pre-/post-test design, leaving little time for the actual intervention, and (3) scoring procedures can often be complicated, especially open-ended questions that require the use of a scoring rubric.

The Concept Recall Test is proposed to overcome these shortcomings. It is developed based on well-established research findings from cognitive psychology on how knowledge is organized in semantic networks of connected concepts. The recall mechanism in the Concept Recall Test is in line with the spreading activation theory. That is, from one input concept, activation will spread along the links to other concepts that are connected to it. Then, from each of these concepts to connected others, and so on. The scores of the Concept Recall Test are representative of the students’ knowledge structure; for a given topic, the more knowledgeable the student is, the larger their knowledge structure and spreading activation, and as a result more concepts will be recalled compared to a student with less knowledge on the same topic.

The objective of this thesis is to validate the use of the Concept Recall Test as a valid and reliable measure of students’ conceptual knowledge. There are four studies in this thesis to systematically address the different types of validity and reliability evidence for the Concept Recall Test. A total of 211 students from one primary school and two secondary schools in Singapore were involved in these studies.

The first study was to determine the reliability of the Concept Recall Test. The reliability of the Concept Recall Test was measured by the interrater agreement between three pairs of independent raters. Results reported almost perfect interrater agreement (κ-values > .81) across the three sets of Concept Recall Test. This meant that the scoring procedure of the Concept Recall Test was highly reliable. Results of this study also demonstrates that the Concept Recall Test was generalizable across the different topics and age groups for measuring conceptual knowledge.

The second study was conducted to investigate whether the scoring method of identifying correctly recalled concepts was significantly different from having to read and interpret the full sentence responses from students. The results of this study showed that identifying correctly recalled concepts was not significantly different from reading and interpreting lengthy responses, suggesting that it was adequate for raters to score the Concept Recall Test reliably just by identifying correctly recalled concepts.

The convergent validity evidence was established in the third study. Results reported that there was a large, positive correlation between scores of the Concept Recall Test and scores of a criterion measure of students’ knowledge (r = .52, p = .005). This suggests that the Concept Recall Test was measuring similar constructs (i.e., students’ knowledge) like the conventional assessment formats.

The final study established substantive validity evidence by exploring whether the scores of the Concept Recall Test could reflect manipulated differences when the students go through a non-learning event followed by a learning event. Results of this study reported significant increase in scores only when the students were subjected to a learning event. This finding suggests that students have successfully picked up more concepts during the learning event and the Concept Recall Test had the potential to reflect these changes in students’ learning.

This thesis concluded that the Concept Recall Test is a valid and reliable measure of students’ conceptual knowledge, with practical implications that will benefit educational researchers, and possibly school teachers.

For the purpose of investigating levels of Mass Sport at regional level in Singapore, two comprehensive test instruments were created. The Regional Sport Development Questionnaire (RSDQ) and Open-ended Informational Questionnaire (OIQ) were developed and administered to managers and administrators from the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and National Sports Associations (NSAs). The overall RSDQ return rate was 33.6% (47 out of 140 responded).

A scoring system was further developed in line with RSDQ, so as to translate and assign the scoring on the Regional Mass Sport Development Index (RMSDI) (Fu & Waters, 1999). The RMSDI (200 points maximum) lied in the theoretical framework developed for RSDQ and OIQ, which encompassed eight factor components (Objectives, Organization, Implementation, Physical Resources, Human Resources, Research and Evaluation, Media and Contribution to Nation Building) as well as total score.

Regions were group geographically so as to be compared and ranked for RMSDI total score and factor components, in the following manner: South M=122.82, SD=24.9) and North (M=115.31, SD=19.39); independent t=tests showed no statistically significant differences (p > .05) existed between the South and North. Likewise, Central (M=126.02, SD=26.5), East (M=120.83, SD=19.51), and West (M=112.56, SD=20.03) data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA which revealed that significant difference existed between means of the West and East as well as West and Central on Physical Resources (p < .05) and also between means of West and Central on Media (p < .05).

The highest overall score RMSDI, for individual regions, was Region 3 (M=129.85, SD=26.16); the lowest Region 1 (M=111.12, SD=18.96). Ranked in between Regions 3 and 1 were Region 5 (M=128.57, SD=21.20), Region 6 (M=126.08, SD=23.67), Region 4 (M=120.21, SD=36.28), Region 2 (M=114.54, SD=22.59), and Region 7 (M=114.20, SD=16.60). One-way ANOVA revealed that statistically significant differences existed for Physical Resources. The follow-up Fisher's LSD test determined differences for Physical Resources between Regions 1 and 6 (p < .05), Regions 1 and 7 (p < .05), Regions 2 and 3 (p < .05), Regions 2 and 4 (p < .05), Regions 2 and 5 (p < .05), Regions 2 and 6 (p < .05), and Regions 2 and 7 (p < .05).

Though means differed for the factor component "Regional Sport Development Contribution to Nation Building," between civilian management (SSC) (n=28, M=21.07, SD=3.43) and volunteer management (NSAa) (n=19, M=19.21, SD=5.59), no significant differences utilizing an independent t-test were found (p>.05).

In conclusion, recommendations or possible direction for enhancing regional (and national ) sport development are presented. These are in the form of statements by administrative personnel of the Singapore Sports Council and are based on eight factor components of the investigation.