Kang Lu-Ming, Trivina

The first purpose of this study examines the extent of career indecision among 16 year old students in Singapore. Although important career development processes emerge during the developmental period of late adolescence (aged 16-17 years or Grade 11), career decision-making difficulties also intensify. In pursuit of this research aim, we ask the following questions:
i) What types of educational and occupations goals do students intend to pursue after they leave secondary school?; ii) What is the extent of career indecision among Singaporean students; and iii) Does career indecision vary across family and academic background characteristics?
The second purpose establishes external construct validation of career indecision using a range of 21st century competency measures. For this purpose, thirteen variables will be selected and conceptually organised according to the Singapore Desired Outcomes of Education Framework. The research questions for this section include: iv) Do students who are indecisive about their career goals report lower mean scores across measures of 21st century competencies? v) Do clarity of students’ career goals predict higher levels of 21st century competencies?

This inquiry interrogates linkages between civic capital broken down into beliefs, dispositions and agency with the notion of the school as a civic community. Using data generated from a longitudinal study on a stratified random sample of two cohorts of students belonging to the primary and secondary levels of the Singapore education system, this paper attempts to establish meaningful relationships between the students’ conceptions and practices of civic capital with their perceptions of an active civic community in school.

This article discusses initial findings from the Panel 6 Life Pathways Study of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technological University. Particular focus is aimed at measuring initial results using Mixed Model Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the longitudinal panel studies conducted on a stratified random sample of Secondary School students in Singapore. Three constructs are analyzed, namely: Existential Aspirations, Construction of Political Society and Political Interest. Implications on policy and practice are outlined in the article.

With increasing pressure for young people to excel academically, the issue of exam anxiety warrants much attention as it bears on the validity of the testing procedure. Using data from the CRPP Life Pathways Study, a survey of 2,514 Secondary 1 students from 39 schools, this paper investigates the influences of family, pedagogical and individual characteristics on cognitive exam anxiety (CEA) among Singapore students using hierarchical regression. Controlling for demographic factors, expectations explained some variance while family background and authentic pedagogy did not. Subjective wellbeing and problem-solving skills further accounted for a significant proportion of variance. It is suggested that the family and school settings could instead be playing an indirect role in minimizing CEA through promoting student wellbeing and problem-solving skills.

Based on in-depth interviews with 60 Normal stream Chinese, Malay and Indian students, this paper explore some of the factors found located within the family and school that influence their post-secondary aspirations. The concept of combined familial resources is proposed to be more analytically constructive than reference to either the family socioeconomic status or ethnicity when accounting for differential aspirations and outcomes. In school, being in the Normal stream limits the post-secondary aspirations of respondents. The "streaming effect" also segregates respondents from their ethnic counterparts in the Express stream. In addition, there is ethnic segregation within the Normal stream. Respondents' preference for mother tongue usage and the sense that they have little in common with other ethnic groups outside the school are factors behind such division. Co-Curricular Activities, especially uniformed groups, can be effective in bridging inter-stream and inter-ethnic group divides. The paper concludes by suggesting some policy implications and recommendations based on these findings.

This article examines the distribution of leadership between vice-principals and principals in Singapore. Vice-principals are an important leadership source in schools because they contribute to various key functions in school, including staff development, student learning and management. This research is on vice-principals’ contributions which are underrepresented in the literature. The study consisted of interviews of 28 vice-principals and 10 principals from 37 schools in Singapore. A mixed case-oriented and theme-oriented strategy was adopted, with member checking conducted through a case write up for each vice-principal. The findings illustrate how vice-principals worked with principals to co-set directions, motivate staff, lead instruction, and promote a desired culture. The study suggests the possibility of viewing the vice-principal and the principal as a leadership couple, with each performing complementary or overlapping practices, through a combination of collaborated and collective distribution. The study also illustrates vice-principals’ leadership and agency vis-à-vis principals’, which otherwise have been neglected.