Chye Yen Leng Stefanie

The capacity for self-regulated learning (SRL) is presently recognized as a necessary and inherent goal of continual lifelong education. This makes developing SRL an educational imperative. However, beyond the general recognition that SRL can and should be explicitly taught, how formal SRL instruction should best be implemented is less clear. This study attempts to shed light on the issue by examining how SRL development may be supported or constrained in a tertiary level SRL instructional module for pre-service teachers, as it occurred. It is assumed that an understanding of these processes would contribute to an improvement in pedagogical practices.

A sociocultural perspective is employed as the overarching theoretical framework for the study. In line with the sociocultural orientation, the study focuses specifically on the local context of the classroom, the forms of instructional discourse employed with and within the classroom practices and the cultural models about SRL that are produced.

Through a combination of ethnographic classroom research and discourse analytic methods, the lecturer's uses of monologic and dialogic forms of pedagogical discourse are first identified. The analysis then demonstrates how different forms of instructional discourse result in the production of different cultural models about SRL. Specifically, the study shows how monologism may produce the following cultural models about SRL: (i) that knowledge for SRL is true and objective; (ii) knowledge for SRL consists of fixed and predetermined facts; (iii) that there is a one right way to SRL; (iv) knowledge for SRL is the sole domain of the lecturer and texts; (v) learner identities established in class are true and permanent; and (vi) SRL problems can be objectively diagnosed. Dialogism on the other hand, was largely associated with the construction of an opposing set of cultural models about SRL. In some instances, the cultural models produced in the SRL module may not be the sole construction of the lecturer, but may reproduce those of the larger society.

An interpretative analysis of how the cultural models about SRL may act to facilitate or assuage the development of self-regulation is offered. This discussion draws upon postmodern and sociocultural accounts of truth, epistemology, identity and power and considers them in relation to SRL development and the goals of SRL instruction.

Overall, the findings suggest that the cultural models about SRL constructed through monologic and dialogic forms of pedagogical discourse can both act to support and undermine SRL development. While the monologic stance may be necessary, it is insufficient to bring about SRL development. Dialogic SRL instruction presents its own difficulties, but appears to be more in keeping with the goals of SRL instruction and the development of self-regulatory processes. This suggests that dialogism may need to be accorded a more central role in SRL instruction.

In closing, it is hoped that the present study casts a different light on current understandings about SRL development in instructional contexts and serves to map out new research agendas to be pursued by future researchers and educators concerned with SRL development.

This concept paper describes the changes made to Singapore's initial teacher preparation (ITP) programmes with a specific focus on its thinking teacher model (NIE, 2009) - a model of teacher agency and an approach to ITP that requires self-reflection on roles and practice, understanding theories and research, and adapting to changing learner needs (Tan & Liu, 2015). An important component of this model is a 'meta' course which all pre-service teachers are required to undergo. This 'meta' course called Professional Practice and Inquiry (PPI) initiative - which was introduced to develop reflective professionals - cuts through the entire ITP programme providing them with both a framework and a platform to curate their understandings across all their courses, reflect deeply about teaching and learning and highlight their best work. This paper demonstrates, by the use of vignettes from their reflective pieces, how the goals and various components made possible by the PPI initiative provided the impetus for English pre-service teachers to develop into autonomous thinking teachers.

“This report identifies and synthesises findings from a total of 42 unique studies that are relevant to at least one of the SFEd Areas of Practice, as well as to teacher learning and PD (see Annex A for the full project list).”--Overview of the Synthesis.

Teacher education needs to be transformative in order to develop future-ready teachers equipped with the values, knowledge and skills to raise a new generation of 21st century learners. The National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore has adopted a value-based Teacher Education Program which aims to prepare autonomous thinking teachers for the 21st century by building teachers with a strong sense of teacher identity, who assume ownership of learning, are reflective of their beliefs and practices and are able to inquire into their classroom practices. One of the defining elements in NIE’s initial teacher preparation program is the use of the digital portfolio as a tool to help student teachers to crystallise their teaching identity, provide the cognitive framework to help build their conceptual map of teaching and learning, create theory-practice links which make visible their inquiry processes, develop their competencies as a teacher and help them become lifelong learners.

General self-efficacy represents the global sense of personal capability across various situations and tasks. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a single-item general self-efficacy scale which balances practical demands and psychometric concerns. The psychometric properties of the proposed Single-Item General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE-SI) were examined among 231 Singaporean adults. Results based on three statistical methods demonstrated good reliability (.594 .607 and .726, respectively, M = .642), as compared with the reliability scores from other single-item scales. It also showed satisfactory criterion-related validity evidence (i.e., correlation with a multiple-item general self-efficacy scale, r = .795). Validity evidence based on relationships with other constructs was supported by the correlations between the scores of general self-efficacy and the scores of six relevant constructs (i.e., positive correlations with life satisfaction and positive emotions, negative correlations with negative emotions, task and perceived stress, and illness symptoms). More importantly, the GSE-SI and multiple-item scale scores showed consistent correlation patterns with their relevant constructs. Both GSE-SI and multiple-item scale scores significantly discriminated between the three clusters in a similar pattern. The present results show that the GSE-SI is a reliable and valid measure of general self-efficacy and can be recommended in future research to complement the constraints of multiple-item scales.

The prevalence rate of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has increased globally over the years and is estimated at 7%. Studies report a significant association between PIU and Social and Emotional Learning skills, as well as negative effects such as loneliness. Taken together, the current study proposes a model of loneliness mediating SEL and PIU. The data used in this study was earlier collected from another study involving 1623 youths from 5 different schools that aims to study the trends and factors of PIU among Singapore adolescents. Secondary analysis of the data revealed that SEL, Loneliness and PIU are significantly correlated with each other. In addition, according to Baron and Kenny’s (1981) mediation model, loneliness was also found to be a full mediator of SEL and PIU, although the Sobel Test (1982) showed the indirect effect of SEL on PIU through loneliness is insignificant. The implications on policy and practice, as well as the directions for future research in view of the limitations of the study, are also discussed.

Reading is a key ingredient in a student’s education and their success as life-long learners. It is important in any subject taught in school, as textbooks and other written media are used to convey information being taught. Reading comprehension is an important component for student success both in and out of school. Reading is a key ingredient in a student’s education and their success as life-long learners. Students who self-regulate and take charge of their own reading will have a higher opportunity of achieving success. This study examines the self-regulated reading of Primary 6 students. This study investigated, through the transcendental phenomenological method, the self-regulated reading of the students with a focus on reading comprehension. Participants were asked to verbalize their experiences and provide descriptions of how they approached reading comprehension tasks. In so doing, they provide an understanding of the decisions, thought processes and experiences involved, as they engaged in the metacognitive, motivational and behavioral components of self-regulated reading.