Tay Eng Guan

Up until 1990, the Institute of Education in Singapore was primarily a teaching institute involved in training teachers for Singapore schools. Since the inception of the National Institute of Education (NIE) in 1990, as an institute of the Nanyang Technological University, the focus of the institute has been enlarged to include research in education. This chapter examines, through a documentary analysis, how a research culture specifically in mathematics education at the National Institute of Education was nurtured, developed and supported from 1990 onwards. Development of the culture for Mathematics Education Research (MER) has been in tandem with all other areas of research at the NIE. Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been adopted to support research as part of an academic’s work at the institute. Policies related to recruitment and promotion of academics were developed to ensure that emphasis was on both teaching and research. Development of research, from individually led bite-sized grains to team-based project with coherent themes, was supported. The setting up of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice in 2004 and dedicated funding from the Ministry of Education Singapore for research of the Singapore education system heralded an era of MER that has made significant contributions both nationally and internationally. This chapter will also illuminate the four main areas of focus and sources on MER through examples of studies carried out in Singapore since 2000. In addition, it briefly outlines the contribution of MER in ASEAN countries.