Understanding "Knowledge", the Essential Approach to Teaching & Learning

Case Studies of Pre-Universities in Singapore

Ching Leen Chiam

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9789813220522
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Lehrmethoden

-->

This pioneering text contributes to the theory and practice of teaching and learning. The purpose is to unlock how key stakeholders of the spectrum of pre-universities in Singapore make sense of "knowledge" and "knowledge work", and endeavour to determine how their understanding of "knowledge" shapes their understanding of "knowledge work" and the conditions that affect their knowledge work. This monograph contributes in a most productive fashion to the necessary educational debates on teaching and learning, which quickly segue into pragmatic political debates about what sort of society and global community we desire.

Using three widely diverse pre-university settings in Singapore as case studies, this book seeks to fill the existing gap by elucidating educators' and students' identification of knowledge, knowledge work and the problems and challenges confronting knowledge work.

-->
--> Contents:

• Introduction
• Methodology/ Research Procedures
• Literature Review
• The OrgPoly Case Study
• The OrgJC Case Study
• The VocInst Case Study
• Analysing the Three Case Studies Discussion and Implications
• Conclusion and Direction

-->
--> Readership: School administrators, educators and researchers focusing on the significance of values on educational practices, and the theory and practice of teaching and learning. -->
Keywords:Knowledge;Epistemic;Teaching and Learning;Singapore;Pre-University;Educator;Student;Case StudyReview: Key Features:

• This is a pioneering text that delves into the knowledge work at pre-universities in Singapore
• The findings that are presented as three multi-case studies (based on findings gathered from 56 interviews, supplemented by surveys, field notes and reflections obtained from classroom observations and document records) in Singapore's pre-universities serve as evidence that shows the close interrelationships between the values and related educational practices in each site, which both enable and constrain thinking about and engagement in knowledge work
• It is apparent that the epistemic positions are embedded in institutional cultures, and hence can only be understood adequately only if they are studied in the context of its carriers (the teachers and students themselves and the processes in the schools ) and the interaction of those carriers with the larger social environment. Major implications that flow from this study's findings is discussed in the book

Chapter 1

Introduction

Knowledge is the antidote to fear.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1.1Contextual Background

The idea for this study is embedded in a historical context that sees rapid change and uncertainty being endemic in every discourse (e.g., the economic, social and educational, political discourse), a context that reinforces the imperativeness to leverage knowledge and to continually improve learning capabilities. This “new” significance of knowledge is evident in the works of Castells (1996), Drucker (1993, 1998), Gibbons et al. (1994), Hutchings and Mohannak (2007), Newell et al. (2002), Nonaka (1991), Scarbrough and Swan (2003), and inter-governmental agencies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2004), United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (2005) and World Bank (1999). These literatures highlight the emergence of a society organised around knowledge for the purpose of sustained competitive edge, economic growth and development, social control and institutional creativity, and innovation. From these perspectives, the experts see knowledge as analogous to light: “Weightless and tangible it can easily travel the world, enlightening the lives of people everywhere” (World Bank, 1999, p. 1). To put simply, knowledge and learning has never been as vital to the success of nation, or to an organisation, as it is today.

It has to be said that deciding how best to develop knowledge-based economy resources in the form of intelligent thinking about how knowledge works and how to work with it is essential (Rooney, Hearn, & Ninan, 2005, p. 5). The shift towards a cultural system that is oriented to the production of new knowledge will have a substantial impact on formal education at all levels, as no educational system can afford to graduate students ill-prepared for the fast-paced, persistently changing workplace and an uncertain global economy (McWilliam, 2010). As part of this recognition, as well as in response to widespread changes brought by economic globalisation and technical changes, an overwhelming proportion of governments advocate that the way ahead in the developmental process of their nations lies in ongoing learning by seeking out the hidden knowledge in society, advancing it, capturing it, putting it to effective use to create new learning opportunities (Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, 2000; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2006; Sen, 1999).

This is as true of Singapore state as it is of China, Russia, India, South Africa, Chile, Jordan, and Brazil, who have been reported to be re-examining their educational systems and making fundamental changes to their curricula to promote, support, and maximize the potential of learners to obtain a rapid and effective trajectory of knowledge development (Stewart & Kagan, 2005). These changes include course design to incorporate a broader range of instructional strategies that engage a broader range of learning styles, and assessment practices. In this regard, advocates of 21^st century education stress the importance of learning by way of authentic intellectual skills that places emphasis on developing self-motivated learners with a healthy love of learning, as well as skills in critical thinking and creative problem-solving. As McWilliam (2010, p. 293) notes:

… the ability to move seamlessly across disciplinary, social and cultural terrains may be most important. “Being prepared” is about travelling light in epistemological terms, springing off strong disciplinary platforms but at the same time refusing to be weighted down by old information and traditional ways of doing things. It is about knowing what to do when there are no blueprints or templates for the next task, and having sufficient cultural and epistemological agility to learn “on the run” through developing and maintaining robust, flexible networks.

To be sure, a certain epistemological agility to adopt a risk-taking disposition to the elusive demands of the 21^st century challenges is needed. On this account, the contemporary understandings of the capabilities needed for knowledge workers includes: (a) the ability to see the part in the context of the wider and more complex whole; (b) the ability to analyse others’ arguments; (c) the ability to argue, theorise and or relate empirical data or other forms of evidence using formulae and questions as well as innovative models and metaphors; (d) the ability to conduct research intuitively or analytically with ideas and their products; (e) the ability to invent or synthesise information; and, (f) the ability to collaborate with others in ways that increase opportunities for successful innovation (Schmoker, 2008/2009; Yorke, 2006).

Singapore, despite having a robust education system that is respected for its high standards,¹ recognises that as a small country with no natural resources, it is always vulnerable to the actions of larger players. Hence, its education system must continue to evolve to ramp up the quality of the education it provides, including the supply of specific skills to make Singapore globally competitive (Department of Education Western Australia, September 2006; Tan, 2009). Since Singapore’s establishment in 1965, education has been seen as central to developing the human capital engine for economic growth and to the creation of a sense of Singaporean identity, and this remains true today (Chew, 2009). In 1978, the education system was modified as the old system had become inefficient with high educational wastage, low levels of literacy, and ineffective bilingualism (Goh & Education Study Team, 1979). To increase efficiency and to help students attain literacy skills and support the differing learning abilities of students, streaming was introduced in 1978 to allow students to progress at their own pace from primary five onwards (Goh & Education Study Team, 1979). Consequently, differentiated curricula and different examinations were provided for different courses (Tan, Chow, & Goh, 2008). Pivotal in the education system was an emphasis on meeting standards set in milestone examinations which track and sort students, placing them in appropriate learning programmes in order to develop an excellent workforce (Chew, 2009).

The year 1997 saw the launch of the Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN) vision that set the context for a further review of the education system to better align it to the needs of the 21^st century (Tan, et al., 2008). This multi-pronged and insightfully forward-looking vision saw Singapore as a nation of thinking and committed citizens capable of meeting the challenges of the future and an education system geared to the needs of the 21^st century. In line with this, an External Review Committee Report (1998), commissioned by the Ministry of Education (MOE), recommended that learning activities should go beyond achieving high scores in examinations to equip students with the skills, competencies, and dispositions for the 21^st century. These include a breadth and openness to multi-disciplinary perspectives; creativity and innovation; the ability to manage and work with people; independent learning; effective communication; a passion for life-long learning; and a team orientation.

TSLN spawned an array of further initiatives. These include nurturing a spirit of Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) movement where critical and creative thinking were supposed to be infused into all curricular areas, and the Teach Less, Learn More (TLLM) movement that seeks to transform learning from “quantity” to “quality” by shifting the focus of classroom instruction away from the usual practice of teaching students for examinations, and finding better ways of teaching to truly engage “hearts and minds” of students (Hogan & Gopinathan, 2008; Ng, 2008; Tan, Chow, & Goh, 2008).

A series of other education initiatives followed in the wake of these. One involved developing students’ creative thinking and learning skills for the future, through a revision of curriculum and assessment. A second involved provision of first-class information communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure in through the IT Masterplan to promote wider utilisation of IT. Other initiatives targeted the development of students’ communication skills and habits of independent learning; new school management systems; greater autonomy for schools; a new career structure and recognition package for teachers; and changes in the university admission criteria from 2003 (Ministry of Education Singapore, 2003). Thinking skills were infused in the curriculum while there was a gradual shift in examinations to a better balance between assessing recall of factual information and higher order thinking skills involving the application of concepts. National education was also strengthened to develop stronger bonds between students and a desire to contribute to something larger than themselves (Chew, 2009).

To ensure that MOE has the flexibility to effect curricular changes to customise to the needs of Singapore in a timely manner, in year 2002, MOE assumed greater control of the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A-level) examination in terms of the construction of examination syllabi, format of examination question papers, setting of standards, and award of grades for all subjects offered under A-level examination (Ministry of Education Singapore, 2002). Alternative modes of assessment were introduced to move towards authentic assessment. The move saw the introduction of school-based coursework assessment in the A-level examination, such as the introduction of Project Work as a compulsory subject for all candidates, and the School-based Practical Assessment (SPA) for Science students. Project Work was trialled in 2001, scaled up as a dry-run in 2002, and was examined nationally for the first time in 2003. Project Work aims to provide pre-university students with opportunities to explore the inter-relationships and interconnectedness of subject-specific knowledge, synthesise knowledge from the various areas of learning and critically, and to creatively apply it to real-life situations (Tan, Chow, & Goh, 2008). Students have to demonstrate their ability, individually and as a group, by applying knowledge developed through a project task. This process enhances students’ knowledge and enables them to develop skills like collaboration, communication and independent learning, and in so doing, prepare them for lifelong learning. SPA was scaled as a dry-run in 2002–2003 and eventually replaced the traditional practical examination in year 2004. In order that syllabuses and new emphases are reflected in examinations in a timely manner, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board was established in 2004 (Tan, Chow, & Goh, 2008). In 2006, the new mode of collaboration was extended to the GCE Ordinary Level (O-level) examination.

In 2008, streaming that had became a key feature of the Singaporean education system was replaced with subject-based banding. At the end of primary 6, all students sit for the Primary School Learning Examination (PSLE) in English, Mathematics, Mother-tongue language, and Sciences. Based on the results for this examination, students are admitted to an express (60% of students), normal academic (25%) or normal technical (15%) course in secondary school. Students in the express course follow a 4-year programme culminating in the GCE O-level exam. Students in the normal academic course follow a 4-year course to GCE N-level and may sit for O-levels in year 5. The normal technical programme prepares students for technical higher education, jobs or the pre-universities vocational education after a 4-year programme leading to the GCE N-level.

In recent years, more choice has been offered to students in secondary school, with a wider range of subjects at O-level and elective modules. Since 2004, the Integrated Programme (IP), locally referred to as through train, was introduced in selected schools to allow students to proceed to Junior Colleges without taking the O-level examinations. In a sense this represents a fourth “course” for the academically most-able of the express course students. The omission of the O-level examinations released time for students to engage in broader learning experiences that develop their leadership potential and capacity for creative thinking.

There is now more horizontal mobility between courses and students who do well are allowed to transfer to a “higher” stream. Also in line with customised curricula, new highly specialised, state-funded independent specialist schools that cater to students with special talents and abilities have been established. These are the Singapore Sports School, the National University of Singapore High School for Mathematics and Science, the School of the Arts Singapore, and the School of Science and Technology (Chew, 2009). After 10 years of general education, students go to pre-universities education, either junior colleges (31% of students), polytechnics (43%), or Institutes of Technical Education (22%) (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010).

It is without doubt that we are in the midst of a profound transformation that is demanding a fundamental rethinking of the nature of knowledge and how knowledge works and how to work with it. We have seen that the global change and uncertainty brought by the knowledge-based economy has raised Singapore’s awareness of the need in paradigm shift from a knowledge transmission model with a focus on teaching to a 21^st century model that focuses on learning, with learners engaging in complex knowledge construction. The recent educational shift from the rhetoric of “efficiency and quantity” to “customisation and quality” that has taken place in Singapore’s education system reflects a growing sense of what an apt educational response needs to be in light of the emergence of the global “knowledge economy”.

1.2Statement of the Problem

The recent changes and uncertainty have placed systems, schools, teachers, and students under “increasing pressure to think anew about which knowledge and which practices should count” (Luke, 2006, p. 2). Singapore is seeking to understand ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Preface
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• About the Author
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Methodology/Research Procedures
• Chapter 3 Literature Review
• Chapter 4 The OrgPoly Case Study
• Chapter 5 The OrgJC Case Study
• Chapter 6 The VocInst Case Study
• Chapter 7 Analysing the Three Case Studies: Discussion and Implications
• Chapter 8 Conclusion and Direction
• Appendix A Survey Instrument Development
• Appendix B Description of Singapore’s Macro Context
• Appendix C Guidelines for Administration of Survey Questionnaire
• Appendix D Student Questionnaire
• Appendix E Staff Questionnaire
• Appendix F Interview/Focus Group Discussion Guide
• Appendix G Means Findings for Students’ Questionnaires
• Appendix H Means Findings for Staff Questionnaires
• References