Chia, Alexius Ti Yong

The “Student-centred, Values-driven” vision, articulated in 2011, marked a significant shift in the Singapore education system to a heightened emphasis on values, social emotional competencies, character development at the center of students’ educational experiences, and whole-child development. This vision embraces a “broad and inclusive” approach to education and a desire to support all students to succeed and achieve their fullest potential. This chapter describes key developments which accompanied the Student-centred, Values-driven vision with a particular emphasis on how teacher professional learning needed to be re-positioned in order to complement the vision. The chapter describes how Morgan School—one of four publicly-funded specialized independent schools set up to cater to students’ different aspirations—designed conditions for a school-based learning approach. Narratives from Morgan School describe the complexity and nuances between the school’s and teachers’ understandings of conditions that support professional learning. Based on lessons learned from Morgan School, the chapter postulates that the Student-centred, Values-driven vision has created a social-cultural environment in schools that drives professional learning by nurturing community building, strengthening teacher leaders, and promoting teacher agency and partnerships toward the goal of whole-child development.

English education has played a key role in the modernization and globalization of Singapore. Following the institution of the Bilingual policy in the year following the nation’s independence in 1965, the English Language attained a privileged status among other languages taught in Singapore schools. To this day, it is viewed as a vital catalyst to securing Singapore’s continued economic growth and to maintaining its image as a cosmopolitan hub conducive to foreign businesses and investments. In this chapter, we chart developments in English education in Singapore from the country’s independence in 1965 to the present. We focus on key changes to English Language syllabuses across Singapore’s history which we contextualize alongside four major phases of education in Singapore: Survival-driven education (1950s to 1960s), Efficiency-driven education (1970s to 1980s), Ability-driven education (1990s to 2000s), and Student-centric, Values-driven education (2010 to the present). The chapter concludes with observations about future developments of English education in Singapore.