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History education in Singapore: Development and transformation
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Type
Book Chapter
Citation
Suhaimi Afandi & Lim, I. M. (2022). History education in Singapore: Development and transformation. In Y.-J. Lee (Ed.), Education in Singapore: People-making and nation-building (pp. 379-403). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9982-5_21
Abstract
This chapter examines how the teaching and learning of history in Singapore have evolved since colonial times and throughout Singapore’s transformation into a modern, internationally connected, and cosmopolitan city-state. In the decades following the achievement of political independence in 1965, Singapore’s approach to history education has been carefully managed to meet the challenges and the shifting needs of a newly independent nation-state. National survival, economic imperatives, and social cohesiveness were overriding priorities. These foundational notions continue to wield significant influence in subsequent formulations of the history curriculum. Over the years, the dynamics of global change, concerns over economic functionality, and challenges to national cohesion have guided further iterations of the national history curriculum. These have subsequently led to changes in the way history education is conceived and how the subject is taught in the classroom. Since 2001, the introduction of disciplinary-focused aspects of historical study such as source-work methodology, inquiry-based learning, and concept-based teaching has transformed pedagogical and professional practice in many history classrooms in Singapore. By drawing on relevant scholarship and research in history education, the paper traces the evolution of history education in Singapore and highlights significant developments that have contributed to the way the subject is currently taught and learnt in schools.
Date Issued
2022
ISBN
9789811699825 (online)
9789811699818 (print)
Publisher
Springer