Nurturing Students to be Engaged and Concerned Citizens

Launched in 2004 after the establishment of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP) at NIE, the CORE Research Programme is currently in its fourth iteration (CORE 4) and led by the Centre Director of NIE’s Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, Dr Dennis Kwek. In this iteration, the programme has a stronger emphasis on the learner’s perspective and aims to generate substantive improvements in education. This large-scale study, designed to examine actual classroom practices in Singapore, seeks to answer three questions:

1. How do teachers teach?
2. Why do they teach the way they do?
3. How do students learn?

“The broad objective of CORE is to provide policymakers and researchers with well-informed, timely and evidence-based baseline descriptions and evaluations on the state of pedagogical practices in Singapore schools,” Dr Fatema, who has been part of the CORE research team, shares.

Since its inception, the programme has evolved through four phases – CORE 1 (2004–2007), CORE 2 (2009–2014), CORE 3 (2015–2023) and CORE 4 (2023–present). CORE 4 takes a closer look at the instructional core (City et al., 2011) of teaching and learning, prioritizing learner perspectives to drive meaningful improvements. This impact is made possible through a tight research-practice-policy partnership between NIE and the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE).

“In Phase 1 of CORE 4, we examined Primary 5 Social Studies classrooms across 22 schools, observing 170 lessons,” Fatema explains. Data collection methods included classroom observations, teacher interviews, focus group discussions with students, and surveys for both teachers and students.

The team also found that 15% of the lessons emphasized civic literacy, and the focus on global literacy was stronger (27% of the lessons). Primary 5 Social Studies teachers frequently connected concepts across different contexts, drew on personal experiences, and encouraged students to do the same – strategies essential for fostering cross-cultural literacy.

The Social Studies curriculum (MOE, 2020), which focuses on understanding Singapore and Southeast Asia, includes topics like physical environments, customs and traditions. Through classroom talk and the tasks students engage with, teachers often emphasized respecting different cultures and appreciating other beliefs and customs. About 15% of the lessons explicitly focused on fostering social cohesion and cross-cultural understanding.

“We find that teachers clearly emphasize the need to respect different cultures especially when travelling, and being appreciative of beliefs, customs and traditions,” Fatema says.

To spark curiosity, teachers used methods like tapping into students’ prior knowledge, incorporating engaging materials like videos and anecdotes, and framing lessons with open-ended questions. “Values are both taught explicitly and caught implicitly through the teacher’s actions and classroom environment,” Fatema adds.

The team frame their findings in line with the curricular focus and the 21st Century Competencies (21CC) framework (MOE, 2023). The findings indicate that skills and values such as communication, personal responsibility (i.e., in the use of information), informed decision-making and individual empowerment (i.e., making a change/difference) are hardly emphasized.

“From a multicultural perspective, we need to create more opportunities for students to engage with value-laden issues openly,” Fatema says. However, she acknowledges that it requires training and willingness on the part of both teachers and students to address controversial and sensitive topics in the classroom.

The findings indicate a gap in emphasizing skills such as informed decision-making, personal responsibility and empowerment to drive change, which are key to enabling civic participation especially so in a multicultural society like Singapore. However, the increased use of open-ended questions, student initiations and multiple perspectives in classrooms shows promise.

The CORE Research Programme offers a comprehensive view of Singapore’s education landscape. Its findings inform strategies for professional development and highlight areas where pedagogical practices can evolve.

“There’s an increasing emphasis on 21CC, such as critical and adaptive thinking,” says Fatema. “Teachers are encouraging students to engage with different perspectives and tolerate ambiguity – essential skills for navigating complex issues.”

While assessing the impact of values education remains a challenge, teachers observe changes in students’ behaviour as an indicator of learning. Fatema emphasizes the value of both explicit teaching and implicit modeling in instilling these values.

Through the CORE Research Programme, NIE continues to provide actionable insights that empower educators to nurture students as engaged, thoughtful and socially responsible citizens. The ongoing focus on global citizenship and multiculturalism ensures that Singapore’s education system remains responsive to the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world.

References

City, E. A., Elmore, R. F., Fiarman, S. E., & Teitel, L. (2011). Instructional rounds in education: A network approach to improving learning and teaching. Harvard Education Press.

Ministry of Education. (2020). Social Studies teaching and learning syllabus: Primary. Singapore.

Ministry of Education. (2023). Framework for 21st century competencies. Retrieved November 15, 2024 from https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/21st-century-competencies