Kang, Trivina

This article discusses initial findings from the Panel 6 Life Pathways Study of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technological University. Particular focus is aimed at measuring initial results using Mixed Model Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the longitudinal panel studies conducted on a stratified random sample of Secondary School students in Singapore. Three constructs are analyzed, namely: Existential Aspirations, Construction of Political Society and Political Interest. Implications on policy and practice are outlined in the article.

This inquiry interrogates linkages between civic capital broken down into beliefs, dispositions and agency with the notion of the school as a civic community. Using data generated from a longitudinal study on a stratified random sample of two cohorts of students belonging to the primary and secondary levels of the Singapore education system, this paper attempts to establish meaningful relationships between the students’ conceptions and practices of civic capital with their perceptions of an active civic community in school.

Based on in-depth interviews with 60 Normal stream Chinese, Malay and Indian students, this paper explore some of the factors found located within the family and school that influence their post-secondary aspirations. The concept of combined familial resources is proposed to be more analytically constructive than reference to either the family socioeconomic status or ethnicity when accounting for differential aspirations and outcomes. In school, being in the Normal stream limits the post-secondary aspirations of respondents. The "streaming effect" also segregates respondents from their ethnic counterparts in the Express stream. In addition, there is ethnic segregation within the Normal stream. Respondents' preference for mother tongue usage and the sense that they have little in common with other ethnic groups outside the school are factors behind such division. Co-Curricular Activities, especially uniformed groups, can be effective in bridging inter-stream and inter-ethnic group divides. The paper concludes by suggesting some policy implications and recommendations based on these findings.

With increasing pressure for young people to excel academically, the issue of exam anxiety warrants much attention as it bears on the validity of the testing procedure. Using data from the CRPP Life Pathways Study, a survey of 2,514 Secondary 1 students from 39 schools, this paper investigates the influences of family, pedagogical and individual characteristics on cognitive exam anxiety (CEA) among Singapore students using hierarchical regression. Controlling for demographic factors, expectations explained some variance while family background and authentic pedagogy did not. Subjective wellbeing and problem-solving skills further accounted for a significant proportion of variance. It is suggested that the family and school settings could instead be playing an indirect role in minimizing CEA through promoting student wellbeing and problem-solving skills.

The first purpose of this study examines the extent of career indecision among 16 year old students in Singapore. Although important career development processes emerge during the developmental period of late adolescence (aged 16-17 years or Grade 11), career decision-making difficulties also intensify. In pursuit of this research aim, we ask the following questions:
i) What types of educational and occupations goals do students intend to pursue after they leave secondary school?; ii) What is the extent of career indecision among Singaporean students; and iii) Does career indecision vary across family and academic background characteristics?
The second purpose establishes external construct validation of career indecision using a range of 21st century competency measures. For this purpose, thirteen variables will be selected and conceptually organised according to the Singapore Desired Outcomes of Education Framework. The research questions for this section include: iv) Do students who are indecisive about their career goals report lower mean scores across measures of 21st century competencies? v) Do clarity of students’ career goals predict higher levels of 21st century competencies?

This article examines what vice-principals in Singapore experience as constraints to their leadership practice, and how they deal with these constraints, cognisant that role misalignment for vice-principals presents barriers to schools achieving optimal effectiveness. This qualitative study seeks to hear the voices of vice-principals, to uncover the contextual richness of their experiences through interviews with 28 vice-principals. Coding involved a mix of codes from the literature and from the interviews, with member checking of the findings. Vice-principals in Singapore face two main constraints: role ambiguity and role conflicts. These are mainly a structural issue, given the dual expectations of vice-principals to support their principals and to lead. The problems are heightened when there are clashes of values, with vice-principals conflicted between two sources of authority: administrative and professional. Framing the constraints faced by vice-principals under role ambiguity and role conflicts raises these constraints to a theoretical and organisational level. The study proposes a link between the concepts of role ambiguity and role boundaries and illustrates how role ambiguity and conflicts can be disempowering. However, the study also shows that ambiguity need not always be a constraint but can be positive under some conditions.

This article examines how principals socially construct the leadership configuration of principals and vice-principals in Singapore and what factors influenced the principal's shaping of this configuration. The qualitative study, involving the interview of 10 principals, sought to understand how principals made sense of their vice-principals roles vis-a-vis their own roles, as well as what influenced their perspectives. Coding involved a mix of codes from the literature and grounded from the interviews. Findings revealed that principals perceived themselves as the main and final decision maker, guarding certain responsibilities, and needing to be in the know. They perceived the vice-principal's role to be mainly a supporting role, while simultaneously expecting the latter to challenge the principal's thinking. Principals varied in how they include vice-principals in work perceived as more the principal's responsibility. A high-power distance culture and the principals’ own induction and experiences as vice-principals shaped the principals’ crafting of the leadership configuration. The study highlights the principals’ role as a community in reproducing the type of vice-principals that the system values, raising a concern that bounded empowerment limits the leadership and growth of vice-principals. However, there is some evidence that principals’ agency can counter predominant socialising forces.