Toward Equity-Centered Teaching in a Centralized Standard-Driven System: A Singapore Case

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: Cultivating Change and Antiracist Interventions Across Learning Settings (Table 2)

Abstract

With a recent focus on educational inequity in Singapore, local research on teaching that challenges inequities remains sparse. This study aimed to understand how teaching practice for equity, social justice, and/or diversity is possible from the experiences of Singapore teachers who navigate a centralized, test/standards-driven education system. A mixed-method design was used, integrating a survey of 78 teachers and follow-up interviews to explore pedagogical practices of five survey participants. The quantitative and qualitative results confirmed each other, suggesting that despite the common boundaries that condition Singapore teachers’ work, they diverge in their views of learners, knowledge/knowledge construction, perceived professional roles and identities, and instructional practices in important ways. Limitations and future studies are discussed.

Author

• Wen-Chia Claire Chang, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University
  Presenting Author