Tan Ai Girl

A total of 416 high school students rated their perceptions of creativity self-efficacy, emotions and achievement goal orientation. Three subscales of creativity self-efficacy were developed - abilities to generate novel ideas, tolerate uncertainty and focus. Affect was assessed using three scales: the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, The Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Subjective Happiness Scale. An achievement goal-orientation scale was used to assess four possible achievement goal-orientations. Acceptable Cronbach's Alphas demonstrated the reliability of the scales and hence the appropriateness of using them with the international students. Creativity self-efficacy was positively correlated with positive affect and a mastery-approach orientation that was consistent with current theory and research findings. The relationships between the other three achievement goal-orientations (performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and mastery-avoidance) and creative self-efficacy were less clearly established. Each goal-orientation was positively correlated with some, but not all, aspects of creativity efficacy. The performance approach orientation was negatively correlated with the uncertainty subscale of creativity self-efficacy.

An instrument was developed mainly from responses of primary school pupils (8-12 years old) to an open-ended question. It aimed at finding out types of activities that primary school pupils wish to have in English lessons. Two hundred and ten primary four and five pupils ( 10-12 years old) of three schools in Singapore rated the activities individually according to their preference. There were three interpretative factor structures. The first factor ( F 1) comprised items related to the conventional classroom activities (e.g., doing worksheet, spelling words). The second factor (F2) consisted of items related to unconventional/earning activities in and outside classrooms (e.g., games, computer learning, outdoor activities). The third factor (F3) comprised items related to activities that demand expressive and linguistic competence (e.g., showing and telling, role play). Using cluster analysis, the pupils were re-grouped according to these factors. Within a class there were pupils who demonstrated a high desirability for all activities. There were also pupils who showed less desirability for all activities. Implications of the findings for teachers were elicited.

Problem solving is an important topic in various school subjects such as mathematics and sciences. The models problem solving and steps proposed to solve a problem have been one of research areas in psychology. This paper intends to provide an overview of psychology of problem solving and various themes of problem solving proposed by psychologists. First the classical examples of problems are presented. Then, features of social and non-social problem solving are discussed. In addition, the individual and group problem solving styles are introduced. Furthermore, generic and domain-specific problem solving are elaborated. For the discussion of psychology of problem solving in education, we highlight models of problem solving in science education, the application of problem solving in science education, and difficulties of teaching problem solving in schools. Lastly, implications of models and application of problem solving for educators are presented.

There are various learning styles and different kinds of self perception. In part one of this article, two learning styles, group and individual, are illustrated by referring to the stories of Taro, a Japanese student, and Wolfgang, a German student. The type of self-perception that a person possesses is likely to be influenced by the type of cultural environment. This argument is discussed in part two. Part three focuses on the transfer of knowledge. Knowledge should be appropriately modified according to the level of understanding and to the culture of the students. Individual differences exist across cultures as well as in a culture.

Following its aspiration to develop an excellent educational system, creativity appears gradually as a component of education in Singapore. In June 1997 the "Thinking Schools" concept was announced outlining teacher roles in fostering creative thinking. This paper investigated student teachers' perceptions of teacher roles in enhancing students' creativity in the classrooms. 140 student teachers participated in a paper-and-pencil survey rating teacher characteristics that were important for fostering creativity of primary school students and secondary school students on a 9-Likert scale. The student teachers perceived that primary school teachers who can help foster students' creativity are those who possess basic pedagogical skills, creative disposition, interpersonal disposition and classroom management skills. They regarded that secondary school teachers who can help foster students' creativity are those who possess creative disposition and skills, as well as know-how for fostering thinking skills, social skills and pedagogical skills. The student teachers' different perceptions of teacher roles in fostering creativity of primary and secondary school students were discussed.

This paper wishes to invite local educators, researchers, and psychologists to share their insights into the roles of psychology and psychologists for teachers. It is not intended to provide standardised answers. The paper raises several questions: Should psychology be perceived as a core subject, a supplementary discipline, or a part of the curriculum of teacher educational programs? What are teachers’ and educators’ concerns? How can psychological models and theories be applicable to education? Are there Singaporean psychological models of teacher educators? How can local psychologists design socio-culturally appropriate models and theories? The first section of this paper elaborates briefly on field psychology. Several questions and doubts related to this field are presented. The second section defines educational psychology, and poses some questions related to this sub-discipline. The third section evaluates the contents and directions of psychological courses for Singaporean teachers. Lastly, reflections on the role of psychology for teachers for the next century are presented.