Instructional leadership practices in Singapore

This paper presents a review of the literature on principal instructional leadership in Singapore. The authors investigated the dimensions of instructional leadership in the practices of Singapore principals and highlighted the strategies these leaders adopt to enact their instructional roles. Singapore principals were found to play an active role in defining the school vision and promoting the school climate. However, in the areas of curriculum implementation and classroom instruction, the middle management team in the school played more active roles as compared to principals. Five broad conclusions were discussed to provide perspectives on instructional leadership practices in Singapore. This paper also highlighted limitations on current instructional leadership research in Singapore and pointed to areas of future research.     

The roles of teacher efficacy in instructional innovation: its predictive relations to constructivist and didactic instruction

Constructivist instruction has been implemented in the current instructional innovation in Singapore. Large scale survey study was conducted to examine the roles of teacher efficacy in implementing the innovative constructivist instruction. The results showed that the positive correlation between teacher efficacy and constructivist instruction was stronger than the correlation between teacher efficacy and didactic instruction. The study suggests that policy makers and school leaders should try to improve teacher’s efficacy beliefs so that innovative instruction could be effectively implemented by school teachers.     

Differential relations of constructivist and didactic instruction to students' cognition,motivation, and achievement

This study examined how constructivist and didactic instruction was related to students' cognitive, motivational, and achievement outcomes in English classrooms, using a sample of 3000 Grade 9 students from 108 classrooms in 39 secondary schools in Singapore. Results of hierarchical linear modeling showed differential cross-level relations. After controlling for students' prior achievement, constructivist instruction was a significant positive predictor of students' deep processing strategies, self-efficacy, task value, and English achievement, whereas didactic instruction was a significant positive predictor of students' surface processing strategies and a negative predictor of English achievement. Our findings underscore the importance of linking instructional practices with multiple outcomes, including psychological factors that are important for student learning.     

Open-ended investigations: Performance and effects of pre-training

Students' performance and the effects of pre-training were studied for tasks rated high in ambiguity, in particular those where the solution to the tasks cannot be arrived at through predictable algorithms. A total of 277 thirteen-year-old students from two urban schools in Singapore were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was provided with instruction for dealing with such tasks in general before performing a series of tasks, while the other group performed the tasks without the instruction. How well the students coped with the ambiguities of the tasks with and without pretraining is reported in this paper.     

The Singapore Reading and English Acquisition program

English is an important language for multi-racial Singaporeans, and is the medium of instruction in Singapore schools from Year 1. During an extensive research study commissioned by the Ministry of Education, the Reading and English Acquisition Program (REAP), was introduced in 1985 to Year 1 classes in 30 primary schools. REAP was an integrated book-based program aimed at improving language learning, and fostering positive attitudes. It involved elements of Shared Book and Language Experience Approaches, suitably adapted to Singapore, and a Book Flood of high interest storybooks. Teacher workshops and advisory classroom visits were used to support Singapore teachers’ classroom use of the project methodology. Numerous evaluation studies comparing REAP and NON-REAP children were conducted over several years, using individual and group tests of reading, listening, grammar, vocabulary, speaking and writing. REAP pupils consistently showed stronger performance in all language skills in Years 1–3, and the Ministry of Education resolved to extend the program to all schools in Singapore. Follow-up studies showed sustained effects, and the methodology is now integrated into the national syllabus.     

The teaching of literature in a Singapore secondary school: disciplinarity,curriculum coverage and the opportunity costs involved

Set against the backdrop of reinvigorating the study of literature and concerns about the adequate preparation of students for the world of work, this paper explores how a Singapore teacher presented a literary text in the classroom. Drawing on data from a large-scale representative sample of Singapore schools in instruction and assessment practices, we discuss some of the potential consequences of instructional choice-making from a disciplinary perspective. Our findings suggest, for example, that when teacher-dominated discourse and interpretations dominate, instructional flexibility and responsiveness are correspondingly limited and restricted. These courses of action, we contend, may occur contrary to teachers’ plans and expectations. The paper closes by making a call for further longitudinal research across multiple research sites into the nature of literature pedagogy that has a strong disciplinary focus.     

Whole language versus code-based skills and interactional patterns in Singapore’s early literacy program

This paper analyzes whole language and code-based skills approaches in early literacy and the specific patterns of interaction present in both approaches. Nineteen hours of video data were coded to analyze the nature of whole language versus code-based skills instruction and document the allocation of time spent on each approach in a reading program. Data come from a cross-sectional study in Singapore where the Learning Support Program (LSP), a reading program for low-track students, was studied in five schools. Overall, 73% of class time in the dataset showed code-based skills instruction. However, the approach to instruction changed within the LSP in a linear fashion. Though in the early years of the LSP there was an over-emphasis on code-based skills and lack of variety in patterns of interaction, in later years there was a balance between whole language and code-based skills and a wider variety of interactional patterns.     

Education and Colonial Transition in Singapore and Hong Kong: Comparisons and contrasts

As Hong Kong approached its hand-over to Chinese sovereignty, it has been instructive to compare its experience with that in other former British colonies. This article focuses on how education policies in areas such as the medium of instruction and curriculum changed as Singapore moved towards self-government and independence in the 1950s and 1960s. It also compares the changes that took place in Singapore with those currently occurring in Hong Kong. Observations will be made about the likelihood of the 'one country, two systems' concept working in Hong Kong after 1997.     

Comparing Learning From Productive Failure and Vicarious Failure

A total of 136 eighth-grade math students from 2 Singapore schools learned from either productive failure (PF) or vicarious failure (VF). PF students generated solutions to a complex problem targeting the concept of variance that they had not learned yet before receiving instruction on the targeted concept. VF students evaluated the solutions generated by PF students before receiving the same instruction. Student-generated solutions were either suboptimal or incorrect, and in this sense can be conceived as failed problem-solving attempts. Although there was no difference on self-reported engagement, PF students reported significantly greater mental effort and interest in knowing the canonical solution to the problem than VF students. When preexisting differences in general ability, math ability, and prior knowledge were controlled, PF students outperformed VF students on conceptual understanding and transfer without compromising procedural fluency. These results suggest that when learning a new math concept, people learn better from their own failed solutions than those of others provided appropriate instruction on the targeted concept is given after the generation or evaluation activity.     

Reading Acquisition in Singapore

One of Singapore's problems with reading acquisition programmes stems from the fact that although most of our children come from non-Englisg speaking homes, their parents' choice of the medium of instruction is English. This means that English is taught right from the first day the child enters school. Most of the other countries where English is taught and is not the mother tongue, use the mother tongue as a medium of instruction for several years before the introduction of English. Neither are Singaporean children totally immersed in English at school because they also spend part of their school time learning a non-English language, namely Chinese, Malay or Tamil. Investigation into problems connected with the teaching of English and reading is therefore very important for Singapore, especially since one of our education system's streaming procedures is instituted very early, at the end of the third year of schooling at Primary 3.     

Relationship between Science Teaching Practices and Students’ Achievement in Singapore,Chinese Taipei,and the US: An Analysis Using TIMSS 2011 Data

The assumption that inquiry-based instruction is more effective in influencing student science achievement than traditional didactic teaching has been the driving force of science education reform in recent decades and in many countries. However, the empirical relationship between these two kinds of science teaching and student science performance is not soundly established, which is worth a careful examination. Framed through the theoretical perspectives of inquiry-based instruction and culturally relevant pedagogy, using a two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach and simultaneous multiple regression, this study examines the above relationship using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 8th grade dataset from Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and the US. The study found that for the low-performing students, none of the inquiry-based teaching practice items measured had a significant relationship with the science achievements at any performance levels of students in any country/region except for the case of two inquiry-based teaching practice items that were positively related to Chinese Taipei students’ achievements. No didactic teaching practice items were associated with the Singapore students’ science achievement, three of these practice items were found negatively related to Chinese Taipei students’ science achievement, and one traditional didactic teaching practice was negatively related to the science achievement of U.S. students. However, for medium- and high-performing students, none of these inquiry-based or traditional didactic science-teaching practices were found to be positive predictors of science performance in all three countries/regions. However, in the case of Chinese Taipei, one didactic teaching practice item was negatively related with the medium level performing students’ achievement and two didactic teaching practices were found to hinder high-performing students’ science achievements.     

Instructional practices and science performance of 10 top-performing regions in PISA 2015

ABSTRACT

This study analysed 10 top-performing regions in PISA 2015 on their science performances and instructional practices. The regions include Singapore, Japan, Estonia, Taipei, Finland, Macao, Canada, Hong Kong, China and Korea. The science performances of the 10 regions and their teaching practices are described and compared. The construct of enquiry-based instruction as developed in PISA 2015 is revised into two new constructs using factor analysis. Then, the relationships of the teaching practices with science performance are analysed using hierarchical linear modelling. Adaptive instruction, teacher-directed instruction and interactive application are found positively associated with performance in all regions, while investigation and perceived feedback are all negative. The regions except Japan and Korea tend to have a high frequency of teacher-directed instruction facilitated by more or less authoritative class discussion in class. A fair amount of practical work is done, but not many of them are investigations. The cultural influences on teaching practices are discussed on how an amalgam of didactic and constructivist pedagogy is created by the Western progressive educational philosophy meeting the Confucian culture. The reasons for investigation’s negative association with performance are also explored.     

Trends and Issues in Improving University Teaching

This study reports the trends and issues related to the teaching improvement efforts at the National University of Singapore as a whole and in the Medical Faculty in particular. The university‐wide study is mainly based on the returns of a questionnaire evaluating the Teaching Methodology courses conducted in conjunction with the Institute of Education, Singapore in the past seven years (1981 – 1987). The perceptions and meanings regarding teaching improvement efforts that are derived from interviews with a purposive sample of Medical Faculty members confirm the advantages of the developmental approach of instructional and faculty development. The main issues derived from the study centres around questions about academic staff needs of educational courses, the effects of improved teaching on learning, and the ability of media and information technology to improve the quality of teaching. The study shows the emergence of the following trends: 1) There is an increasing recognition that all lecturers need some basic teaching methodology courses. 2) Improved teaching that emphasizes the education of the whole person especially in professional programmes rather than on specific vocational training produces better educated professionals. 3) The integration of various alternative media and modern technology with large and small group teaching has been increasingly used to improve instruction.     

新加坡南洋理工学院学生发展经验研究

新加坡是当代世界小国崛起的成功样板,全球国家创新能力排名第一。南洋理工学院是新加坡超前人力资源准备的重要基地,其成功经验在世界范围产生了深远影响。南洋理工学院制定了在先进理念指导下学生发展目标和战略规划,通过实施个人导师计划、学生互助计划、学生心理辅导服务、创新而有效的人才培养新模式、多姿多彩的校园生活、课外活动积分制、建设服务与管理双重功能的现代化校园、严格的质量标准等策略,实现了学生健康发展、主动发展、特色发展的目标,为学生奠定了终身发展的坚实基础。其学生发展的经验为我们科学发展职业教育提供了许多重要启示。     

Competing priorities: Singaporean teachers’ perspectives on critical literacy

This paper explores a group of Singaporean English language teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about critical literacy as well as their perspectives on how best to teach literacy and critical literacy in Singapore schools. A face-to-face survey was conducted among 58 English language teachers by using open-ended questions. The survey covered various topics related to literacy instruction including text decoding, meaning construction, and critical analysis of texts. The participating teachers believed strongly that reading and writing are transactional and interactional practices. However, they were less certain in their beliefs about teaching critical literacy including the critical, analytical and evaluative aspects of text reading. Some teachers saw a conflict between using time on teaching critical literacy and preparing students to pass their exams. As critical literacy is not a requirement at exams, they found it difficult to justify using time teaching it. The results suggest that the teachers’ belief systems are strongly influenced by the broad macro-structure of the educational system in Singapore and their own educational experiences.     

Assessing Impacts of Math in Focus,a “Singapore Math” Program

ABSTRACT

This study investigates, through a cluster randomized trial, the impact of Math in Focus, a core mathematics program modeled after instructional approaches used in Singapore, on third- through fifth-grade students’ achievement in mathematics. The program is currently being used in more than 400 school districts in the United States. The program focuses on coherence of coverage of materials across grades, use of the Concrete to Pictorial to Abstract approach to instruction, and covering fewer topics, but addressing them more thoroughly. Twenty-two grade-level teams across 12 schools were randomized to the program or business as usual. Measures included indicators of fidelity to treatment, and student mathematics learning. Impacts on mathematics achievement ranged from .11 to .15 standard deviation units. No differences in impact were observed depending on level of incoming achievement, minority status, or grade level. Impact of Math in Focus did not vary across the procedures and problem-solving subscales. Discussion of findings includes the nature of the counterfactual, and possible future direction of impact studies that may focus in greater depth on the critical features of inquiry instruction unique to Math in Focus.     

Finland and Singapore in PISA 2009: similarities and differences in achievements and school management

In PISA 2009, Finland and Singapore were both ranked high among the participating nations and have caught much attention internationally. However, a secondary analysis of the means for Reading achievement show that the differences are rather small and are attributable to spurious precision. Hence, the two nations should be considered as being on par with each other in achievements and be assigned the same rank. Spurious precision as a problem of interpreting and reporting research findings has caught the attention of researchers in several other disciplines, though not in the field of education, and this needs to be rectified. In spite of the finding of no differences in PISA Reading achievement, principals in Finland and Singapore differ somewhat in school management and involvement in school matters. It is suggested that some intervening variables (e.g., teachers’ quality and instruction) are needed to explain the correlation (or the lack of it) between principals’ management styles and student Reading achievement. It is also suggested that school principals’ management styles might have been influenced by the cultural milieus of the countries and have influenced students’ social-emotional development, which is not measured by PISA.     

Reading Instruction in Lower Primary Classes: A Second Observational Study

1985 marked the beginning of the implementation of the Reading and English Acquisition Programme (REAP)—a programme aimed at retraining lower primary English teachers in reading and English language instruction. This programme covering 90 schools in 1986 evolved from research conducted by the Institute of Education personnel. The Reading Skills Project (see Ng, 1984), a 3-year study, examined pupils' reading progress from Primary 1 to 3 in 35 schools; a teacher-observation study looked into reading instructional activities in 24 of the above schools. There was simultaneously a search for reading instruction approaches suitable for the Singapore classroom followed by a small feasibility survey on a chosen approach; a re-examination of in-service reading courses and a literature search for strategies for programme implementation. The present study attempts to discuss only the teacher-observation facet of the total research work behind REAP. In view of the fact that Singapore-based teacher-observation studies are few (see Evaluation of CLIPS, 1981) and studies on the teaching of reading in lower primary still fewer (see Ng, 1980), it is important to first record the research findings for the study done in 1984, and their implications for classroom practice. As this study both replicates and extends a similar study done earlier, teacher educators and educational authorities may find, from the accumulated experience, confirming evidence of directions for a retraining programme for reading teachers, and the urgent need for both curriculum and instructional change in this field.