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Contesting reform: Bernstein's pedagogic device and madrasah education in Singapore
Citation
Tan, C. (2010). Contesting reform: Bernstein's pedagogic device and madrasah education in Singapore. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 42(2), 165-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270903494311
Author
Tan, Charlene
Abstract
This paper aims to highlight the active role played by various pedagogic agents in contesting the state educational reforms for madrasahs in Singapore. Drawing upon Basil Bernstein’s pedagogic device, the paper identified the tensions and challenges that arise from the attempts by the state to implement curriculum reforms and the Compulsory Education legislation. The paper argues that the stakes are high in the struggle in madrasah education as the group that appropriates and controls the pedagogic device exercises power in relation to the distribution, recontextualisation and evaluation of the knowledge forms in madrasah education. The lesson from the Singapore experience is that policymakers and curriculum planners need to be cognisant of the power and control wielded by the various pedagogic agents.
Date Issued
2010
DOI
10.1080/00220270903494311
Description
This is the final draft, after peer-review, of a manuscript published in Journal of Curriculum Studies. The published version is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220270903494311