Fourth way in action: translation of research into policy and practice

This article discusses the relationship between policy, research and practice in the Singapore education landscape in response to Hargreaves and Shirley’s arguments of Fourth Way principles of educational change. Examples of recent policy developments in Singapore are used to illustrate the interaction between judicial uses of research data and pragmatic knowledge of classroom practices and stakeholders’ interest in policy formulation in Singapore. It is advocated that a key ingredient of the success of Singapore’s education system is the unity of vision and mission of the people behind policy, research and practice.