Shadow education in Singapore: A Deweyan perspective

Abstract

This study focuses on the phenomenon of private supplementary tutoring, otherwise known as ‘shadow education’, which has proliferated around the world. By casting the spotlight on one particular shadow education institution (SEI) in Singapore and viewing it through the lens of Dewey’s educational philosophy, the study aimed to illuminate the inner workings of a SEI to shed light on its ability to thrive in a competitive educational landscape. Data were drawn from lesson observations, interviews with various stakeholders and the SEI website. Viewed through Dewey’s philosophical thinking about the connections between the child and curriculum and school and society, the data shows an institution outwardly guided by a progressivist mission to develop learners as a whole, providing opportunities for broadening their minds and preparing them for their future workplace. However, evidence also suggests that there is a fundamental focus on high-stakes examination preparation in its pedagogic practices and curricular content. This tension reflects the wider socio-economic culture in Singapore that is entrenched within a utilitarian and pragmatic paradigm while aspiring towards more humanistic and holistic educational goals.     

Constructions of civic education: Hong Kong teachers’ perceptions of moral,civic and national education*

Various terms have been used to define civic education (CE) in Hong Kong since the colonial era. This has been particularly true since 2011, when CE has been given many names, causing confusion among educators. Mixed methods were employed to examine teachers’ perceptions of different conceptions of CE expressed as moral, civic and national education. The findings indicate that some teachers might not be able to differentiate among moral education, CE and national education. Most teachers contended that national education should be included in CE, while others believed the opposite. Teachers perceived that moral and civic education was more successful than moral and national education in cultivating students to become ‘good citizens’. Teachers’ comprehension of these terms has policy and pedagogical implications. While the study is set within the context of Hong Kong, the findings are valuable to policymakers and educators in other countries seeking to improve CE.     

Teacher self-efficacy in cultivating students to become ‘good citizens’: a Hong Kong case

Civic education is a contested subject in Hong Kong, and there is no agreement in society on what form civic education should take, which leaves each school to choose its own approach. Under these circumstances, each teacher needs greater capability and self-efficacy to develop school-based civic education. This study examined the factors that influenced Hong Kong primary school teacher confidence in teaching citizenship education with the ultimate goal of nurturing students to become ‘good citizens.’ The results of this study indicated that teacher self-efficacy was influenced by beliefs about the subject (Moral, Civic and National Education) and beliefs about teachers’ roles in the curriculum but not beliefs about teaching. Teachers felt more confident teaching social topics than political topics. While this study was conducted in the Hong Kong context, the findings could be valuable for policy makers and educators elsewhere who seek to strengthen teacher self-efficacy.     

Using dual Euler angles for the analysis of arm movement during the badminton smash

Camera techniques are typically used in the study of human movement. However, as the number of joints and markers involved in a study increases, data extraction and calculation become increasingly tedious and complicated. To overcome this challenge, we propose a method of study that simplifies data extraction and calculation by using an electrogoniometer and dual Euler angles. The contribution of the rotation of each arm segment to produce a racket head’s speed was identified in the context of a badminton smash. The contribution of each segment rotation was computed using dual velocity analysis. A set of orthogonal Cartesian frames was established for computing the anatomical rotational velocities for each of the three segments of the upper arm. Electrogoniometers were attached to the subjects during the execution of the smash to obtain measurements of joint angles throughout the motion. To test the algorithm, the calculated velocity of the racket head was compared to the measured velocity. The calculated velocity was derived from an algorithm, while the measured velocity was obtained from a video image. The results are similar, indicating that the dual velocity method is suitable for determining segmental velocities in such kinematic situations.     

Some Characteristics of East Asian Mathematics Classrooms Based on Data from the Timss 1999 Video Study

In this paper, characteristics of mathematics classrooms in the East Asian countries¹ of Hong Kong and Japan are discussed based on an analysis of the data of the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. The data shows that although students in these East Asian countries did not talk a lot in the classroom, they were exposed to more instructional content. The mathematics problems they worked on were set up mainly using mathematical language, and compared with the problems solved by students in other countries, the problems took a longer duration to solve and more proof was involved. According to the judgement of an expert panel on the Hong Kong lessons (Japan did not participate in this part of the study), more advanced contents were covered and the lessons were more coherent. The mathematics presentations were more developed, and the students were more likely to be engaged in the lessons. In sum, the overall quality of the teaching in this East Asian country was judged to be high. The findings show that high quality teaching and learning can take place even in a teacher directed classroom. It is argued that these East Asian classroom practices are deeply rooted in the underlying cultural values of the classroom and the wider society. The paper ends by drawing some implications of the study for the mathematics education community in other cultures.     

Signature Pedagogies for Educators Using Films: An Example From Singapore

This article discusses the application of Shulman's “signature pedagogies” through the utilization of films for preservice teachers and school leaders in Singapore. Using the films Dead Poets Society and Ahead of the Class, this article explains how these films facilitated the participants' engagement with the surface, deep, and implicit structures of education. In the process, they applied critical thinking by arriving at criteria-based and context-appropriate judgments reflectively. The research findings reveal two broad themes. First, the educators were cognizant of the key issues, opportunities, constraints, and obstacles in teaching and school leadership. Second, they appreciated the importance of adopting situated teaching and leadership approaches to cater to the needs of various educational stakeholders. This study highlights critical thinking as a sociocultural practice where the educators (re)interpreted the films through their cultural lenses and drew on local resources and logics to deal with the challenges in teaching and the school contexts.     

TPACK design scaffolds for supporting teacher pedagogical change

Many empirical studies show that teachers have difficulty designing technology-integrated lessons for student-centered learning. Supporting teachers to change their pedagogical practice is a challenge faced in teacher professional development for technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study describes how teachers’ conceptions of pedagogical change can be supported through the use of different kinds of TPACK design scaffolds—a meaningful learning rubric, lesson design heuristics and TPACK Activity Types. The impact of these design scaffolds on the TPACK confidence and lesson design confidence of 47 teachers and instructors who were attending a graduate course in educational technology were assessed through pre and post course surveys. Expert ratings of technology-integrated lesson plans designed at the beginning and end of the course were also used to determine the extent of pedagogical change enacted. It was found that these design scaffolds had positive effects on teachers’ TPACK confidence and were useful for helping the teachers to articulate pedagogical change in their lesson designs. Participants’ feedback for improving the TPACK design scaffolds as well as guidelines for using these to support pedagogical change through TPACK professional development programmes are discussed.