Between adherence and autonomy: The evolution of Chinese texts in Singapore

URI
Thumbnail Image
Type
Book chapter
Citation
Li, J. (2021). Between adherence and autonomy: The evolution of Chinese texts in Singapore. In C. H. Yow & J. Qu (Eds.), The cultural legacies of Chinese schools in Singapore and Malaysia (pp. 96–117). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003009610-9
Author
Li, Jia 
Abstract
The policy stipulated that schools in Singapore should be “local” rather than “nationalistic.” Apart from serving to contain the activities of Malayan communists, the 1948 Malayan Emergency also implemented a series of harsh restrictions on Chinese schools. This included the ban on hiring of teachers from China, stipulating that teachers and textbooks had to be trained and produced, respectively, locally. The first and second goals of the syllabus focused on the cultivation of students’ abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and writing the language whereas the rest focused on the cultivation and shaping of their capabilities and moral values. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and declared its independence from Malaysia in 1965. Singapore’s Chinese textbooks for secondary schools had always included the learning of knowledge in language, composition writing, and literary content. With the push towards this beneficial wave of reform, the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Planning & Development department continued to review the syllabus of Chinese literature.
Date Issued
2021
ISBN
9781003009610 (online)
Publisher
Routledge
DOI
10.4324/9781003009610-9