Managing the paradox of control: the case of ground-up implementation of active learning in Singapore’s primary schools

The Singaporean education system has recently shifted emphasis from being highly centralised and standardised towards one that aims to promote innovation and autonomy at the school level. Yet, the concomitant move towards a more decentralised and flexible curriculum enacted and controlled at the local level has not been straightforward. Consequently, Hargreaves, Shirley, and Ng have described five paradoxes of educational and social change that characterise Singapore’s continued performance in academic achievement. One of these paradoxes is the paradox of control: How could the Ministry of Education (MOE) release classroom decision making and curriculum development to teachers and schools, while maintaining overall control across the system? They respond that the MOE maintains a fine balance characterised as bottom-up innovation with top-down support that requires further investigation. In this paper, we illustrate the implementation of an active learning curriculum in four primary schools to illustrate this approach of ‘top-down support for bottom-up’ curricular innovation in schools. In Singapore, the ‘Teach Less, Learn More’ movement has ignited school-based development of innovative curricula to bring about active learning, with the intention of developing pupil attributes such as creativity, collaboration, and self-confidence. Our case study explores how practitioners implement a curriculum that is meant to nurture a more emancipatory spirit in students that builds up their confidence and collaboration through active learning. A key premise is that such a curriculum requires practitioners’ autonomy to interpret the goals and desired outcomes and to plan their pupils’ learning experiences.     

Referencing and borrowing from other systems: the Hong Kong education reforms

Abstract

Background: This paper analyses the role of, and approach to, policy referencing and borrowing in Hong Kong’s recent reforms that culminated in the creation of its New Academic Structure and the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.

Main argument: It argues that Hong Kong has gone further than most jurisdictions not just in responding to global influences on education reform, but in taking explicit steps to internationally benchmark its curriculum and assessment, and in involving the global community at multiple levels in the process of education policy planning and implementation.

Sources of evidence and method: The paper is based on the documentary analysis of policy documents in Hong Kong, and 23 interviews with key stakeholders in the policy network, including policy-makers, practitioners and community leaders.

Discussion and conclusions: While policy referencing and borrowing in the Hong Kong context can, in part, be traced to a colonial legacy, the Special Administrative Region of China demonstrates a collaborative approach to education reform involving local and international engagement that may be relevant to other systems. Its approach was informed by a measured use of policy referencing that involved ‘horizon scanning’ of other systems’ policies and practices; international benchmarking; and engaging international expertise to facilitate implementation.     

Sources of students’ frustration in pre-university level, prerequisite mathematics courses

This paper looks at sources of frustration in students of “prerequisite” mathematics courses (PMC), that is, courses required for admission into undergraduate programs in a large, urban, North American university. The research was based on responses to a questionnaire addressed to students and interviews with students and instructors. In the design of the questionnaire and the analysis of responses, an “institutional” theoretical perspective was taken, where frustration was conceived not only as a psychological process but also as a situation experienced by participants in a concrete educational institution. Several sources of frustration were identified as important in the group of respondents: the fast pace of the courses, inefficient learning strategies, the need to change previously acquired ways of thinking, difficult rapport with truth and reasoning in mathematics, being forced to take PMC, insufficient academic and moral support on the part of teachers, and poor achievement. These sources of frustration are discussed from the point of view of their impact on the quality of the mathematical knowledge that students develop in the PMC. Consideration is also given to the possibilities of improving the quality of this knowledge, given the institutional constraints implicated in the sources of students’ frustration.

‘Testing,testing, testing… can you hear me?’

This article draws on material that formed part of a project entitled ‘Sustaining Pupils’ Progress at Year 3'¹. One area that emerged as significant early in the project was the practice and the place of assessment. The project found a high increase in testing and other forms of assessment during Year 3 designed in part to facilitate progress. This article poses the question of whether we can learn from hearing what pupils have to say about their experience of assessment and concludes that, given the language with which to discuss and understand the processes they experience, children's views can indeed be of value as schools focus on ways to sustain learning     

What is technology? Development and evaluation of a simple instrument for measuring children's conceptions of technology

Technology is important to all aspects of our lives, so helping students develop an accurate understanding of technology should be an educational goal at the K-12 level. Assessments are important tools in reaching this goal. We developed an instrument to measure the technology conceptions of children ages 8–11, the ‘What is Technology’ (WT) instrument. We gathered evidence for the validity of using the WT instrument to measure children's conceptions of technology, including changes due to an intervention, and we describe those changes. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish scales, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with new samples of subjects to confirm our hypothesised model of children's conceptions. For further evidence, we analyzed and coded the written responses children gave to open-ended questions asking them to explain their understanding of technology, then calculated correlations between these codes and the CFA-confirmed scale measures. We found that children tend to think of technology as artifacts that are powered by electrical energy; however, after instruction most children's conceptions become more consistent with definitions given in educational standards. The instrument is shown to be valid and reliable for its intended use, to assess preadolescent children's conceptions of technology, and evaluate the impact of an intervention.     

What recent research on diagrams suggests about learning with rather than learning from visual representations in science

The move from learning science from representations to learning science with representations has many potential and undocumented complexities. This thematic analysis partially explores the trends of representational uses in science instruction, examining 80 research studies on diagram use in science. These studies, published during 2000–2014, were located through searches of journal databases and books. Open coding of the studies identified 13 themes, 6 of which were identified in at least 10% of the studies: eliciting mental models, classroom-based research, multimedia principles, teaching and learning strategies, representational competence, and student agency. A shift in emphasis on learning with rather than learning from representations was evident across the three 5-year intervals considered, mirroring a pedagogical shift from science instruction as transmission of information to constructivist approaches in which learners actively negotiate understanding and construct knowledge. The themes and topics in recent research highlight areas of active interest and reveal gaps that may prove fruitful for further research, including classroom-based studies, the role of prior knowledge, and the use of eye-tracking. The results of the research included in this thematic review of the 2000–2014 literature suggest that both interpreting and constructing representations can lead to better understanding of science concepts.     

Educational Planning in the Eastern Caribbean: A Strategic Approach

Abstract

The paper attempts to show that educational planning in the English‐speaking Caribbean and Surinam, is in a questionable state. Indeed, one can argue that any meaningful planning goes on in spite of, rather than as a result of formal planning by planning units where they exist. This of course raises questions with respect to efficient resource utilization. The paper argues that the available training bodies have concentrated on individual planners, and have failed to provide training in the development of planned systems, or planning as a process. The aspects of strategic planning recommended here, place specific emphasis on planning as a process, recognize the socio‐political imperatives in the management of education, and the essential bankruptcy of an approach that concentrates on a planner as the key factor in educational change.     

Exploring a Community of Practice Model for Professional Development to Address Challenges to Classroom Practices in Early Childhood

This study explored whether or not, and how, an on-site and research–teacher community of practice model for professional development addressed the challenges to classroom practices in a Head Start program. Data sources included interviews with teachers, videos of planning and teaching sessions, and the researchers' fieldwork log and reflective notes. Qualitative analysis revealed (a) five major challenges to classroom practice that aligned with previous research—existing practices did not always cohere with research-based practice, lack of teacher buy-in, lack of planning between the lead and assistant teachers, lack of assistant teacher participation in instruction, and high teacher turnover; (b) five aspects of professional development that aligned with the community of practice model—sharing stories with teachers, being on-site and interacting with teachers and children, inviting all teachers to participate, beginning by building on existing practices, and negotiating practices by reflecting with teachers; and (c) how these aspects of our professional development model addressed the challenges to classroom practice in the focal classroom. Implications for in-service professional development and teacher education are discussed.