Professional Characteristics and Teacher Professionalism of Secondary School Teachers

Questionnaire responses from 338 secondary school teachers were analysed to relate teachers' professional characteristics (comprising teaching experience, professional development, and academic and professional qualifications) to teacher professionalism, defined in terms of the two dimensions, teaching competence and commitment to teaching. The Professional Development and Teacher Professionalism Instrument (PDTPI) was devised to measure professional development and teacher professionalism. Inferential statistical techniques employed in the study showed that the variable, teaching experience, was not related to teacher professionalism. Professional development, on the other hand, was found to be an important variable, with the mean teacher professionalism scores between the “high” and “low” professional development groups being significantly different. The study also found that academic qualification was not related to teacher professionalism. However, teachers who had higher professional qualifications were found to possess a higher degree of teacher professionalism.     

The Art curriculum from an Art educator's viewpoint

At the first art seminar held in 1965, a number of art topics was discussed and there were practical sessions featuring demonstrations by local artists and craftsmen. Unfortunately the findings of that seminar were never published although much work was put into the writing of the report. However, one happy outcome did result and that was the founding of the Singapore Art and Crafts Education Society which together with the Ministry of Education is responsible for the present art seminar. The SACES has been very active doing its bit enthusiastically since its inception to arouse interest in art amongst school children, parents and teachers. Its annual Spot Art competition has become a regular feature on the local art calendar.     

What's the point? Children's understanding of didactic stories

When do children reliably understand that a simple narrative text such as a fable is conveying a point or moral lesson? What role does culture play in influencing understanding? These questions were explored in a cross-sectional sample of 192 children, aged 7, 9 and 11 years drawn from the two largest groups in Singapore, Chinese and Malays. During interviews the child participants were read traditional Aesop's, Chinese and Malay fables and manipulated fables and fable-like stories, and asked to identify and generate the points or morals. The sample and design of the study allowed for comparisons with similar American research. The evidence suggests that, as predicted, cultural background exerts a positive influence on this ability. A number of ethnic differences in response between the Chinese and Malays emerged and possible reasons for these are discussed.     

Personal Bias or Government Bias? Testing the Hostile Media Effect in a Regulated Press System

This study examines the hostile media effect in relation topartisans’ perception of the slant of news coverage ina highly regulated press environment—Singapore. We foundthat partisans in Singapore perceived unbiased news to be infavor of the other side, while the nonpartisans perceived thesame news to be neutral. Our findings show that hostile mediaeffects can persist in a restricted press environment wherepeople are aware of the government's control of media coverage.We also found that partisans’ awareness of the government'scontrol of media information contributed to their perceptionof the article slant as well. Received for publication May 9, 2006. Accepted for publication December 5, 2006.     

The perspectives of lecturers on the action research journey in the Mathematics and Science Department of Singapore Polytechnic

The goal of this research was to understand the various aspects of the action research initiative in the Department of Mathematics and Science, Singapore Polytechnic. A total of 55 lecturers took part in this study and data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires, informal conversations with the lecturers, observations of their behaviours in action research processes and evaluation of their action research reports. Statistical methods and grounded theory were used in the analysis. Statistical analysis showed that the lecturers generally perceive that action research is useful in teaching and learning. The core category of ‘Taking personal and professional ownership in action research’ was formed through grounded theory analysis. Through addressing the various sub-categories in the core category of ‘Taking personal and professional ownership in action research’, a number of recommendations to improve the current situation of action research implementation in the department were proposed.     

Academic self-concept: A cross-sectional study of grade and gender differences in a Singapore secondary school

Many studies support the existence of a significant decline in students’ academic self-concept from early to midadolescence. In comparison, the findings on gender effect are less conclusive. This study aimed to determine whether there is any grade or gender effect on adolescents’ academic self-concept in the Singapore context. Specifically, the cross-sectional study was conducted with Secondary 1, 2 and 3 students (N = 656) in a government co-educational school. The results established a significant main effect according to grade, with Secondary 3 students having significantly lower academic self-concept (scale and subscales) than Secondary 1 and 2 students. In addition, there was a significant main effect for gender, with female students having significantly higher perceived academic effort (academic self-concept subscale) than their male counterparts.     

Perceptions of low ability students on group project work and cooperative learning

The benefits of cooperative learning strategies, such as group project work, have been advocated in a wide range of educational contexts. There is however, scant information on the outcome of such programs on students of low academic ability. In this study, interviews were conducted with four groups of low-ability students, with the aim of investigating their perceptions on the effectiveness of group project work in promoting their social and cognitive skills. Our findings show that although the students recognized that the program improved their competence in interacting with others, there are problematic organizational and instructional issues that have to be ironed out before students can profit fully from cooperative learning programs.     

A Piagetian-Based Programme for Learning “Elements and Symbols”

Piaget's learning theory on cognitive development has had considerable impact on science education (Piaget, 1964; Inhelder and Piaget, 1958; Craig, 1972). The theory classifies cognitive learning into four successive stages: (a) sensory-motor, (b) pre-operational, (c) operational, and (d) formal. Various programmes and instructional strategies have been developed based on the theory (Batt, 1980; Karplus, 1977; Renner and Stafford, 1979; Ryan, et al., 1980; Herron, 1978; Good et al; 1978). An application of this theory for teaching and learning scientific concepts is the Piagetian learning cycle (Karplus, 1977) which is of growing interest among science educators. This article intends to introduce briefly the learning cycle in general and suggest a learning cycle for teaching a topic in chemistry: “Elements and Symbols”.