Soo, Johannah Li Mei

In an era marked by dynamic digital growth, environmental changes, population growth, and global economic fluctuations, the concept of food resilience has emerged as a critical pillar for sustaining communities and ensuring food security. Food resilience refers to a household’s ability to withstand stresses in disruption to food availability, such as natural calamities and man-made disruptions that affect food production and distribution. In the face of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, erratic weather conditions and wars, the importance of building and strengthening food resilience cannot be overstated. In this context, understanding and prioritizing food resilience is not merely a strategic choice but an imperative for the well-being and stability of societies worldwide. In addition, consumers should utilize the advancement of technology to increase their food resilience. Home Economists have an important role to play, using the three “Ts”—Teach, Tech, Touch —to “teach” the correct knowledge on food consumption, include the use of “technology” to make their lifestyles more sustainable and resilient to food disruption and to “touch” the community with our extension programs.

This dissertation examines the purchase intention of genetically modified (GM) food by consumers in Singapore, specifically investigates the perceived and measured knowledge of consumers on GM food; the perceptions towards the attributes of GM food; the support for the use of genetic medication technology on food; as well as the motivation to purchase GM food. Research of such nature is scarce in Singapore. This exploratory study would provide fundamental information for policy makers in the area of food labelling, for educators and food producers in drawing up programmes for consumers education. The conceptual model of purchase intention was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) and the consumer decision-making model by Schiffman & Kanuk (2007).

The sample was made up of 263 consumers with purchasing power, 120 tertiary science students and 382 secondary students (N = 765). The subjects were grouped based on age and education. The purchase intention of GM food was based on the ratings on the support for genetic modification technology on food production and the motivation to purchase GM food. The three groups of consumers were compared in terms of their differences in the knowledge on GM food and gender. The instrument was a self-administered survey modified from several published scales and surveys to suit the Singapore context (Eurobarometer survey, multi-dimensional scale by Pope et al. (2004) and scale by Subrahmanyan and Cheng, (2000) and GMAC online quiz). Cronbach‟s Alphas for the two scales in the instrument used in the survey were above 0.7.

The findings of this study showed that in general, purchase intention of GM food is positive. The results indicated that consumers with a science background had more knowledge on genetics and GM food, were more positive perceptions towards the attributes of GM food, were more likely to support for the technology and more motivation to purchase GM food. Among the different groups of consumers, tertiary science students i.e. those with science background, were most likely to purchase GM food and the consumers with purchasing power were least likely to purchase GM food. Younger consumers (i.e. those below the age of 24 years) were more willing to purchase GM food. Female consumers indicated that they were more likely to purchase GM food than male consumers, though the difference was not statistically significant.

Consumers in Singapore trusted government agencies in providing information about GM food and issues. The results of the study suggested that the use of the Internet to inform consumers on GM food and issues via the government websites would be most effective channel.

The study, though limited in scope, provided an overview on how consumers in Singapore viewed GM food. A larger sample size and a more extensive study would be needed for more precise analysis of individual differences.

This thesis examines the perceptions and practices of sustainable food consumption by the Singapore consumer, investigates the beliefs and values driving food consumption, and consumer’s knowledge (perceived and measured) on sustainable food and food production. The study also aims to identify the attributes that promote sustainable food consumption and profile the demographic characteristics of the consumers who are more willing to consume sustainable food, which will provide fundamental information for policy makers to communicate sustainable living through food choice. For educators, the findings of this study will help them to design school curriculum in teaching and disseminating information on sustainability and enable food producers and marketers to gain a better understanding of the needs and attitudes of consumers towards sustainable food that will help them with the sales of their products.

The theoretical framework of sustainable food consumption is based on a combination of the rational approach of consumer behaviour, the social psychological approach of behaviour as well as the systems approach of decision-making. The framework lists the input variables (beliefs and values, knowledge, attributes of the products, demographic characteristics) that may have an impact on the output (in sustainable food consumption decision-making). A total of 1011 consumers were surveyed. Consumption of sustainable food is measured using purchase intention, i.e., the likelihood and effort to buy sustainable food. Consumers in the different groups are compared in terms of their demographic differences and knowledge level on sustainable consumption. The instrument is a self-administered survey modified from several published quizzes and surveys to suit the Singapore context.

The findings of this study showed that intention to buy sustainable food was positive but consumers were not willing to put in more effort to consume sustainably. Beliefs and values had an effect on sustainable consumption. Consumers who ranked environmental responsibility as an important value when choosing or buying food and those who believed that buying sustainable food would make a difference towards environmental conservation were more likely to buy and willing to put in effort to buy sustainable food. Older consumers, those with higher educational attainment, and those who were involved in environmental conservation at work or in their studies were more willing to consume sustainably. Perceived and measured knowledge of sustainable food were not high. Nevertheless, consumers who perceived to know about sustainable food were more likely to buy sustainable food. Consumers could also be influenced by their family and friends to consume sustainably.

Hierarchal linear regression analysis showed that attributes, such as cost and labelling, of environmentally-friendly food were predictors of the likelihood to buy sustainable food. The results showed that while consumers indicated their likelihood to buy sustainable food, they were generally less willing to put in effort to do so. Beliefs and values, as well as knowledge about sustainable food consumption were motivation for consumers to put in more effort to buy sustainable food. The results suggest that the various agencies, such as the policy makers, non- governmental organisations, and producers of sustainable food need to put in more effort to promote sustainable food consumption and design programmes to shape the values of consumers and provide them with the knowledge to consume sustainably.

The study provides an overview on how consumers in Singapore perceive and practice sustainable food consumption. More empirical research and actual consumption data on different segments of the consumers will provide a more precise analysis of sustainable food consumption of consumers in Singapore.

There is an increase in demand for teacher leaders to take on and lead the digitised change in the classrooms. However, there is still limited research on how ready teachers are to lead and manage online teaching during and post-COVID times, and hence this exploratory study investigates the challenges that teachers face in enacting e-leadership. To answer the question on “how do the process and development of the introduction of Home-Based Learning (HBL) influence teacher leadership in Singapore?”, through convenience sampling, this study used questionnaires to understand in-service teachers’ readiness to be e-leaders and the drawbacks in the development and introduction of the hybrid or e-curriculum. The study concluded that when building teacher leadership capacity, it is important for school leaders to set the direction, establish a culture of online learning, and develop e-champions to support e-pedagogies. E-teacher leadership can be described as hybrid leadership that consists of a blend of face-to-face and virtual leadership skills.

An exploration of children’s lifeworlds must necessarily go beyond school, to consider children’s everyday out-of-school lives. In this chapter, we focus on the out-of-school activities of Year 4 (9- and 10-year-old) children in the global cities of Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Singapore. We draw on survey responses from 627 children to consider their activities on weekdays after school and weekends, as well as their enjoyment of these activities. Leisure activities were most common across the cities, which are likely to be easily accessible to children, along with the academic activity of homework. To provide a closer reflection on children’s lifeworlds, we also explore the out-of-school activities of one child in each city, drawing on data (re)produced as a re-enactment of their Thursday afternoons, and a discussion of their regular activities across a week. We suggest similarities amongst the children’s activities may be partly attributed to shared features of their lives, such as their age and positioning as children, temporality, school attendance, and location in a global city, rather than constituting a universal global childhood. We also reflect on the need to consider diversity amongst children within cities to provide a more complex picture of children’s everyday out-of-school lifeworlds.

This book examines connections between policy contexts, school experiences and everyday activities of children growing up in the global city of Singapore. In particular, it explores how Singapore children’s everyday experiences inside and outside of school shape their orientations towards educational success. Alongside an analysis of school life and educational policies, it also considers children’s out-of-school activities, including leisure, homework, and enrichment activities, and connections between these and their school-based activities. The book draws on empirical data from Primary 4 classes in two Singapore schools in the form of student-completed surveys, classroom ethnographies, student responses to a learning dialogues activity, and a re-enactment of one child's out-of-school life, as well as curriculum and policy analysis. It provides readers with an in-depth understanding of Singapore Primary 4 children’s experiences inside and outside of school, including the structure of timetables and pedagogical approaches encountered in school lessons, children’s enjoyment of activities inside and outside of school, children’s engagement and wellbeing at school, and the impact of Singapore’s educational policies on children’s learning experiences. Moving beyond a simplistic focus on Singapore children’s academic performance in international high-stakes testing, the book offers a comprehensive exploration of their lives inside and outside of school. This holistic approach is unique in the Singapore context and contributes to a greater understanding of children’s everyday lives in the city.

‘Continuous meritocracy’ was introduced in Singapore to redefine the concepts of talent and ability in Singapore society. This expanded meaning of meritocracy serves as another way to further support the SkillsFuture Singapore movement (Skillsfuture Singapore, 2023b), which was launched in 2016. ‘Continuous meritocracy’ complements Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) programs, which were to provide adult learners opportunities to integrate practical work experiences with academic learning. However, to fully operationalize WIL in the domain of adult learners, this paper points out that it is vital for the Singapore government and the different stakeholders to endorse the different forms of successes by making them more visible in the society. Utilizing Pierre Bourdieu’s key theoretical concepts, this paper discusses the relationship between blue-collar adult learners’ dispositions and WIL and proposes an ecosystemic approach that is based on work-integrated (adult) learning (WIAL) to transform the Singapore blue-collar workers’ habitus with the aim to visualize ‘continuous meritocracy’ at the ground level.

There has been much discussion about the high performance of East Asian students in international high stakes testing, but little attention has been paid to their lifeworlds beyond school. In this article we explore findings from a survey of 627 Year 4 children (nine and ten years old) in three global cities (Hong Kong, Singapore, and Melbourne), focusing on their out-of-school activities as one aspect of their lifeworlds. The findings indicate that the most common activities in each location were comparable. Since the activities in the three locations were largely similar, the findings problematise East/West binaries which have been a feature of research and discussions in this area.

This chapter draws on the Global Childhoods ethnographic data from Year 4 classrooms in Hong Kong, Melbourne and Singapore to elucidate what everyday learning looks like in the three global cities. Acknowledging that learning assumes varied shapes and forms, our primary focus aims to explicate some key features of everyday classroom life in each city, with a focus on time and space. In doing so, we examine the class timetables and explore how time was organised in the schools, and consider the design of classrooms and playgrounds, including the ways in which these spaces were typically used by students and teachers to create learning opportunities. Our analyses are situated within the position of critical onto-epistemological perspective though which we offered critical insights to provoke new understandings about how educational practices are deeply situated within local sociocultural contexts with greater implications for broader learning outcomes and students’ educational success. We seek to provide discussions that are both critical and comparative for rethinking the ways in which opportunities, challenges and diversity in the three education systems became evident from the classroom ethnographies. We also consider the implications of structured learning for shaping children’s multiple ways of being, belonging and becoming learners.