Chia, Alexius Ti Yong

This study is an explorative and descriptive investigation of how three teachers account for their pedagogical practices when enacting the Lower Secondary Science (LSS) Syllabus and the extent to which these accounts are made visible in their classrooms. Taking a socio-cultural perspective, this study is underpinned by two theoretical concepts – ‘pedagogical practice’ (Baker & Johnson, 1998; Freiberg & Freebody, 1995) and ‘layers of mediation’ (Luke, 2005a). The specific questions driving my study are as follows:

In the light of the recent changes in the Singapore science curriculum,
1. how do teachers account for their pedagogical practices in the lower secondary science classroom? and
2. to what extent are their accounts made visible in their classroom instruction?

These questions have been answered by interviewing, and observing the lessons of, three lower secondary science teachers in a government school. The accounts provided in the interviews and the interactions observed in the lessons are subjected to fine-grained qualitative analyses. For the investigation of the science teachers’ accounts, this study employed the analytical approach of Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA) – a branch of Ethnomethodology (Freebody, 2003; Freiberg and Freebody, 1995; Gunn, Forrest and Freebody, 1995). In line with Freiberg and Freebody’s (1995) framework, the teachers’ accounts were used as an essential backdrop for reading and analyzing the transcripts of their science lessons. The latter were examined for their production of what counts as scientific knowledge and practices in the teachers’ classroom. Hence, features of the lesson talk like exchange structure and nature of teacher questions were analyzed. The detailed analyses of the interview talk and classroom interaction transcripts surfaced a number of issues of broader relevance surrounding the challenges of curricular reform. Many of these issues confirm the findings from past research studies, others have expanded and deepened current understandings of the issues.

The findings have been organized into the broad themes derived from the bringing together of common and related categories and their accompanying attributes evoked in the teachers’ accounts of their pedagogical practice. The themes which have been assembled are ‘The Neighbourhood School Student’, ‘Institutional and Systemic Factors’ and ‘Teacher Habitus’. The findings suggest that a divide exists between ‘neighbourhood schools’ and ‘top schools’ – heard largely through the teachers’ attributions accorded to the students which attend them. The ‘neighbourhood school student’ is constructed as unmotivated and lacking in skills necessary to cope with 21st Century schooling; the ‘top school’ student is described as motivated, independent, self-directed and possessing the relevant skills to deal with the demands of school. These contrastive attributions were then employed by the teachers to justify the employment of different ways of instructing these sets of students. These claims were visible in the interaction patterns they employed in their classroom lessons.

Another recurring theme, which emerged from the interviews, is that of institutional and systemic factors – high‐stakes examinations, time constraints, curricular factors – which come to bear on the teachers’ enactment of the LSS Syllabus. These perceived pressures are seen to pull the teachers in different directions. The influence of these pressures was evident again in the teachers’ choice of pedagogical actions in their classroom lessons. They continued to perpetuate rather traditional ways of teaching (e.g. whole class monologic lecture, closed IRE questioning), which run contrary to the LSS Syllabus aims of promoting an inquiry-based curriculum.

The assembly of individual histories of the science teachers – from home, to school and university, through teacher training – was organized under the theme of ‘Teacher Habitus’. The findings from the analysis of their accounts reveal how their past experiences with science are able to shed light on their current beliefs and assumptions about science teaching, and these are seen to impact upon the current activity structures and interaction patterns in their classrooms.

The study concludes that teachers cannot successfully enact an inquiry-based curriculum if they do not change the discourse patterns in their classrooms. However, even if they are willing to do so, it is likely that they will adapt them to their familiar patterns of interacting, given the entrenched nature of these patterns, and the knowledge and values embedded within them.

“The aim of our various teacher education programmes is to develop future teacher leaders with a sense of professionalism, having a broad perspective of education and being well-grounded in content and pedagogy. In order to achieve this, we continue to challenge our student teachers to step out of their comfort zones because it is in these challenging places where authentic learning often takes place. International Practicum (IP) is one such initiative in our Bachelor of Arts (Education) and Bachelor of Science (Education) programmes. IP seeks to broaden and deepen our undergraduates’ learning experiences, not least to help them develop a global mindset.”—Foreword.

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.

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.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine five Secondary English Language teachers’ perceptions and practices of multiliteracies teaching in the context of a decade after multiliteracies was introduced into the English Language syllabus in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a case study approach, the authors observed 12 multiliteracies lessons taught by the five teacher participants across three secondary schools. The classroom data included field notes and video-recordings of the lessons. The authors also conducted pre-lesson and post-lesson interviews with the teachers to understand their beliefs and the rationale behind their classroom practices. The video-recordings of the lessons and audio-recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic coding. Findings The authors identify an essentialising of multiliteracies to the skills of viewing and representing with multimodal texts, as well as a sense of uncertainty amongst the teachers towards the teaching of multiliteracies. In terms of practices, the authors observed an attempt to connect with the students’ life-worlds through the use of authentic materials, but often only in service of language learning. The authors also highlight the constraining influence of assessment on shaping multiliteracies learning. The findings of this study resonate with the conclusions that some of the earlier studies reported on teachers’ perceptions and practices of multiliteracies teaching. This resonation suggests perennial issues and challenges which remain unresolved. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by the number of participants as well as the selected lessons the authors observed. The schools, while selected because they were considered as mid-range public schools in Singapore, were also not representative of all Singapore schools. As such, the authors acknowledge that the generalisability of the findings from this study is limited. Practical implications The issues raised in this study resonate with the findings from previous studies both from Singapore and around the world. The persistence of these concerns over time and space that remain unresolved demands attention and concerted action from policymakers, curriculum developers and education researchers, to address the challenges in multiliteracies teaching and learning. Originality/value This study was conducted a decade after the launch of the English Language Syllabus 2010, which first incorporated multiliteracies into the curriculum. This study examines the teachers’ perceptions and practices in relation to the policy intent. The implications from this study are relevant to educators interested in integrating multiliteracies in the literacy curriculum internationally.

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.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has caused disruptions around the world with devastating consequences socially and economically. Education was not spared. Schools and institutions of higher learning (IHLs) had to grapple with new sets of demands. With most countries forced into lockdown to stem the spread of the virus, some turned to technology-mediated learning to provide some kind continuity for learning to still take place. This concept paper will share some of the key learning points and strategies culled from experiences having to pivot almost overnight to embracing technology and new learning environments, which were sometimes remote or neglected in a milieu and culture that often prided itself in effective physical face-to-face interactions. This article will then draw upon how the Blended Learning approach, undergirded by Connectivism, was implemented in a local IHL. Examples of the different types of blended learning designs that were employed will be described alongside examples on how educators can distinguish between them to engage their learners in both modes.