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The decolonisation of the history curriculum in the English language medium schools of Singapore and Malaya (1952–1963)
Author
Wu, ZongLun
Supervisor
Blackburn, Kevin
Abstract
During the 1950s, the English language history curriculum in Malaya and Singapore was effectively ‘decolonised’, undergoing what many education officials in the colony called ‘Malayanisation’. As Britain prepared Malaya for independence, so too did its officials in the Malayan and Singapore Education Departments move to fashion a new history curriculum for the new Malayan nation. At the beginning of the 1950s, school students were taught the History of the British Empire. By the early 1960s, the imperial history curriculum was replaced by a syllabus that aimed to create a Malayan consciousness for an independent Malaya and a self-governing Singapore, which would eventually merge to form Malaysia.
This thesis traces the changes made to the history curriculum in Singapore and Malaya during the crucial independence decades of the 1950s and 1960s. It shows that the British colonial authorities, together with education officials and academics, initiated the first decolonised syllabus for a future Malayan nation. It then traces the forces that shaped the teaching of history prior to the 1963 merger. The study also examines the pattern of how of a Malayan identity was gradually introduced into history textbooks, which were rewritten and Malayanised for the new Malayan-orientated syllabus.
The findings presented are based on research done on the Colony of Singapore, the Federated Malay States, the Government of the Federation of Malaya, the Government of the State of Singapore, the Ministry of Education (Singapore) and Ministry of Education (Malaya) files held at the National Archives of Singapore, and Arkib Negara Malaysia. A number of oral history recordings from key personalities were made when it was necessary to obtain a fuller picture.
In summary, wide sweeping transformations of the way history was taught occurred during the period of the 1950s to 1960s. The history curriculum in Singapore and Malaya was transformed from that concerning British Empire History to that covering Malayan-centric history. The British initiated the changes. The locally elected elites who completed the process of Malayanisation before 1963 inherited them.
This thesis traces the changes made to the history curriculum in Singapore and Malaya during the crucial independence decades of the 1950s and 1960s. It shows that the British colonial authorities, together with education officials and academics, initiated the first decolonised syllabus for a future Malayan nation. It then traces the forces that shaped the teaching of history prior to the 1963 merger. The study also examines the pattern of how of a Malayan identity was gradually introduced into history textbooks, which were rewritten and Malayanised for the new Malayan-orientated syllabus.
The findings presented are based on research done on the Colony of Singapore, the Federated Malay States, the Government of the Federation of Malaya, the Government of the State of Singapore, the Ministry of Education (Singapore) and Ministry of Education (Malaya) files held at the National Archives of Singapore, and Arkib Negara Malaysia. A number of oral history recordings from key personalities were made when it was necessary to obtain a fuller picture.
In summary, wide sweeping transformations of the way history was taught occurred during the period of the 1950s to 1960s. The history curriculum in Singapore and Malaya was transformed from that concerning British Empire History to that covering Malayan-centric history. The British initiated the changes. The locally elected elites who completed the process of Malayanisation before 1963 inherited them.
Date Issued
2015
Call Number
LB1628 Wu
Date Submitted
2015