Koh Kar Loong Kenneth (Yuying Secondary School (Singapore))
Chelva Rajah S N (National Institute of Education (Singapore))

Keywords
Social Studies
Junior College
Secondary School
Understanding Social Studies
Diversity

Abstract
With the heightened emphasis placed on students’ understanding of core content or key concepts in the 2016 Social Studies curriculum in secondary schools, it remains of utmost interest for the social studies teacher to revisit some of the key strategies and beliefs involved in building conceptual understanding in the classroom. This pedagogy was developed to strengthen students’ understanding and appreciation of key concepts and principles while encouraging them to apply these concepts to their understanding of the world around them. This article thus seeks to explore the various pedagogical beliefs, instructional strategies and challenges that would be applicable for the classroom teacher in the conduct of the new Social Studies syllabus. For the purpose of this article, we will be touching on the concept of diversity to anchor our discussions. Having a good grasp of the key concept of diversity is an essential part of students’ learning as this concept forms the building blocks for gaining a better understanding about the issue on ‘Living in a Diverse Society’.

Introduction
The Ministry of Education, Singapore introduced a new Social Studies syllabus in 2016, which presents a paradigm shift in the teaching of the subject. Rather than the traditional content-based mode of teaching, the new syllabus emphasises an issue-based pedagogy that revolves around student mastery of core content (key concepts) and dynamic content (case studies). This pedagogy was developed to strengthen students’ understanding and appreciation of key concepts and principles while encouraging them to apply these concepts to their understanding of the world around them. The revised syllabus revolves around three broad issues: citizenship and governance, diverse society, and globalisation.

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