(de) Romanticizing education in Singapore: Evolution of protests, politics, and teacher organizing in the developmental state

• In Event: Activism and protest as a fundamental part of education and a teacher’s responsibility

Proposal

Introduction

Louder voices of teachers’ unions can be heard across the globe, pushing for the work of teachers to be noticed and for reforms in multiple aspects including wages, workload, and equity. The Singapore Teachers’ Union (STU) was once a voice to be heard. It was formed in 1946 when Singapore was a British colony and non-local officers held the key positions in the education service, post-war living costs struggles were rife, and wage inequality was based on race and gender (STU, 2021). The beginning of the 20-year decolonization process provided a platform for finding and amplifying local teachers’ own voices through unions, as locals envisioned and negotiated for their own livelihood and future national development (Goh and Gopinathan, 2008). The STU, through a series of actions and negotiations, successfully improved the working conditions of teachers, especially married women and locally-trained teachers (Kwa, 1971). Today, the STU takes on a more consultative approach, focusing on “regulate[ing] relations between members and relevant educational and employing authorities” (STU, 2022). It remains the largest union for teachers in Singapore. Other teachers’ unions are pinned upon Singapore’s bilingual policy and protect the rights of Chinese, Malay, and Tamil language teachers.

Singapore’s glittering development, particularly expressed in its economic success and educational achievements, makes it seem as if its period of struggles is over. Yet, the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 reports that teachers in Singapore work more hours than the average (OECD, 2019). A recent study by the Singapore Counselling Services also found that 81.1% of the 1,325 teachers studied reported that their mental health has been affected as a result of work, while 62.5% highlighted the impact on their physical health (SCC, 2021). Furthermore, teachers, located within a deeply results-oriented culture (Nazeer-Ikeda, 2021), must keep abreast with the “slew of reforms” and a “questioning public” that expect teachers to “be selflessly committed to developing and nurturing students” (Tan, 2019). The primary objective of this paper is thus to trace the evolution of the STU and analyze how its legacy of protests shapes Singapore’s educational development in the past and at present.

Theoretical Framework and Research Questions

This paper takes on the developmental state theory (Johnson, 1982; Castells, 1988) to frame its analysis and discussions. This is to bring forth the seemingly paradoxical coexistence of the two concepts i.e., unionizing as a voice of the unheard within a regulated state. This paper asks two questions. Firstly, how has the legacy of teacher organizing and protests contributed to Singapore’s educational development? Secondly, what strategic plans can navigate the hurdles of unionizing in a developmental state?

Methodology

Singapore has been chosen for two reasons. Currently, teacher organizing in Singapore presents itself as an unusual case because industrial actions are rare. Yet, its education system continues to receive global attention for its students’ outstanding performances in international assessments such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Much of this has been attributed to the quality of its teachers (Goodwin et. al., 2017). Secondly and relatedly, teacher organizing in Singapore has significantly evolved over the past seventy years, providing an interesting case for an investigation of the legacy of teacher organizing and protests in educational development.

The study takes a qualitative approach to provide in-depth answers to the research questions. The STU is used as a case study to understand teacher labor movements and unionizing in Singapore due to its status as the largest teachers’ union in the country. First, a baseline understanding is gained through qualitative analysis of national policy documents and secondary data on challenges facing teachers in Singapore. Next, this data is supplemented with an in-depth face-to-face interview with the General Secretary of the STU. This serves not only as triangulation of our preliminary findings but also to gather first-hand information which has not been recorded elsewhere. This approach allows the paper to elaborate on the work of the STU while providing important and novel understandings of current challenges and possibilities for the future. The two-tier data analysis first uses temporal sequences (Pierson, 2000) to examine STU’s evolution. Secondly, it compares the data with contextual development within and beyond Singapore.

Findings

The findings reveal that the roles of the STU have evolved since its inception, to be aligned with larger policy goals and the development of Singapore. The STU’s adaptability, alongside the overt protests of the earlier years and the quiet background discussions with the government in recent years, have contributed to Singapore’s educational development. The findings have also led to the argument that there exists a mutually inclusive engagement between the STU and the government, developed over a period of seventy years and anchored in a foundation of mutual trust and cooperation. This strategy allows for successful navigation of the hurdles of unionizing in a developmental state but is not one to be taken for granted. This is especially because there exist residual issues to be addressed in Singapore. These focus on teacher wellness, framed by the contemporary yet chronic challenges of teacher workload and fatigue, made worse by the results-oriented culture in teaching, the education system, and Singapore’s wider society. The movement of the STU may have evolved from its confrontational stance in the earlier years, but it continues to remain relevant as it carries important voices of teachers in Singapore.

Significance

This original empirical study provides nuanced understanding of how the teacher labor organization process has contributed to the decolonizing and reconciliation processes in Singapore, thereby illuminating the power of today’s STU within the government and its politics. By amplifying local teachers’ voices and providing socio-economic protections, the backbone of Singapore’s developmental success, the education sector, was secured in the past and at present. This is of particular importance for teachers from disadvantaged and marginalized groups who cannot benefit from blanket policies. With this, the paper hopes to open opportunities for imagining the future trajectory of unionizing in a developmental state like Singapore and reimagining the possibilities of teacher organizing elsewhere.

References

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Authors

• Rita Z. Nazeer-Ikeda, Waseda University

• Sarah R Asada, Kyoritsu Women's University