Social Studies and Citizenship Education Archives - Page 3 of 3

Index

Sim Hwee Hwang

Social Studies and Citizenship Education

Conceptual Teaching in Primary Social Studies: Teaching the Primary Three Reader,“Making the Little Red Dot Blue and Brown” in a Conceptual Way

Author/s:

Sim Hwee Hwang (National Institute of Education, Singapore) Keywords Social Studies Junior College Secondary School Primary School Social Studies Conceptual Teaching Abstract This paper looks at what conceptual teaching is about, the differences between conceptual and traditional teaching and the advantages of conceptual teaching. Different deductive and inductive approaches for teaching the big ideas of subject […]

Sim Hwee Hwang (National Institute of Education, Singapore)

Keywords
Social Studies
Junior College
Secondary School
Primary School
Social Studies
Conceptual Teaching

Abstract
This paper looks at what conceptual teaching is about, the differences between conceptual and traditional teaching and the advantages of conceptual teaching. Different deductive and inductive approaches for teaching the big ideas of subject matter, that is, the concepts and generalisations, are described. The paper also focuses on the teaching of the primary three social studies reader entitled, “Making the Little Red Dot Blue and Brown” using some of the conceptual teaching approaches mentioned. The paper concludes with the importance of teacher subject matter knowledge in conceptual teaching.

A Paradigm Shift: Conceptual Teaching for Primary Social Studies
One longstanding issue which primary social studies teachers in Singapore schools face is the challenge of content coverage, especially in the upper primary, within a tight curriculum time. As it is, the time allocation for lower primary social studies teaching is a single period of 30 minutes per week; and for upper primary, it can range from a weekly of two periods of 60 minutes (Primary 4) to three periods of 90 minutes (Primary 5 and 6) per week (CPDD, 2013). Moreover, the upper primary periods are not necessary arranged back to back for uninterrupted teaching and the periods at all levels can be scheduled just after the morning school assembly, recess or physical education or music lessons. When such periods do not end on time, the amount of time for actual social studies teaching can be reduced as time is needed for pupil movement and settling down. Some teachers worry that if they do not teach the social studies textbooks produced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) from cover to cover, they are not doing their job as teachers properly. For these teachers, the “tyranny of content coverage” is a pressing concern.

To overcome the above-mentioned challenge, one needs to rethink the way primary social studies can be taught. The paradigm shift requires one to teach conceptually but what is conceptual teaching? According to Erickson (2002, 2007, 2008), conceptual teaching or concept-based instruction as she called it goes beyond fact acquisition. It is about teaching the big ideas of a subject matter using relevant content, information or facts to support that teaching. Teachers do not have to teach all the factual content in conceptual teaching. Instead they need to select and reorganise only the relevant ones to teach these big ideas. Conceptual teaching is best achieved through inductive teaching as pupils are guided to understand the big ideas rather than through direct instruction of what these ideas are. The insights they gain from such teaching can help them retain and better transfer their learning to other contexts.

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Diversity: Approaches to building conceptual understanding in the Social Studies classroom

Author/s:

Koh Kar Loong Kenneth

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 […]

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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Developing Conceptual Understanding in Social Studies Using Technology and Discussion

Author/s:

Mark Baildon

Mark Baildon (National Institute of Education (Singapore)) Michelle Lin (Pei Hwa Secondary School, Singapore) Gean Chia (National Institute of Education, Singapore) Keywords Social Studies Junior College Secondary School Conceptual Understanding in Social Studies Using Technology Introduction Social studies concepts are tools for understanding our experience, the past, and the social world. They are broad, organizing ideas that can […]

Mark Baildon (National Institute of Education (Singapore))
Michelle Lin (Pei Hwa Secondary School, Singapore)
Gean Chia (National Institute of Education, Singapore)

Keywords
Social Studies
Junior College
Secondary School
Conceptual Understanding in Social Studies
Using Technology

Introduction
Social studies concepts are tools for understanding our experience, the past, and the social world. They are broad, organizing ideas that can be expressed in one or two words and they are defined by key characteristics or attributes. They help us think about groups of objects, actions, people, issues, or relationships in the social world and can be applied to make sense of new situations and information that we encounter in our experience. Concepts help us learn by organizing new information and experience into mental constructs or schema. In social studies, concepts like trade-offs, identity, integration, and interdependence serve these purposes.

Important concepts that structure Issue One in Singapore’s new Social Studies syllabus include citizenship, trade-offs and governance. For example, to understand the concept of governance students are expected to understand the functions of governments, such as rule-making (i.e., laws) and the role of government in working for the good of society by maintaining order and ensuring justice (with each – the social good, order, and governance – also core social studies concepts necessary for students to understand). By understanding that governance consists of these common attributes – rule making, maintaining order and ensuring justice – no matter which society or government they are examining, students will be better positioned to think about governance, how different governments function, and analyze the role of government in making laws, maintaining order, and ensuring justice. They will be better able to think about the role that government plays in their own experience, the laws that affect them as young people, and what various levels of government do to help provide order and fairness in their community and even at school.

In this article, we share the experience of one Secondary Social Studies teacher, Michelle, in having her students investigate the question of whether or not the Singapore government has done enough to ensure progress in Singapore. Although initially taught prior to the introduction of the new syllabus, we believe it serves as an example of a Social Studies lesson focused on conceptual understanding. To understand the concept of governance and the role of the government in society, she asked them to consider another core social studies concept – progress. The concept of progress is central to the discipline of sociology. It is essential for understanding contemporary society and in developmentally-minded Singapore, the notion of progress is central to thinking about governance and the effects of government policy to support personal well-being, social improvement and economic growth. As the sociologist Robert Nisbet (1980) argued, “no single idea has been more important than…the idea of progress” (p. 4). The Social Progress Index provides several attributes that might help teachers and students consider different facets of social progress, such as well-being (e.g., healthcare, housing, social connection, etc.), whether or not basic human needs are met in society (e.g., clean air and water, safety and security, etc.), and opportunity (e.g., social mobility, inclusion, economic opportunity, etc.). In determining whether government policies had “done enough,” students might consider the extent to which they think policy adequately promoted these aspects of social progress.

We outline Michelle’s lesson in having students consider different attributes of progress by examining different perspectives through source work, class discussion, and the use of technology. After providing this short lesson vignette, we conclude by highlighting Michelle’s takeaways from the lesson and the shift in her thinking about teaching Social Studies.

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The “rightful place” of Physical Geography in Singapore’s School Geography Curriculum

Author/s:

Ng Mui Leng

Ng Mui Leng (Dunman High School, Singapore) Keywords Geography Junior College Secondary School Physical Geography Education Citizenship Education When the new Lower Secondary Geography Syllabus was launched in 2014, there was much talk among teachers that there seemed to be a downplaying of “pure” physical geography topics. Units on the traditional four spheres of physical geography […]

Ng Mui Leng (Dunman High School, Singapore)

Keywords
Geography
Junior College
Secondary School
Physical Geography Education
Citizenship Education

When the new Lower Secondary Geography Syllabus was launched in 2014, there was much talk among teachers that there seemed to be a downplaying of “pure” physical geography topics. Units on the traditional four spheres of physical geography (i.e. biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere) were taken out, though physical geography topics are still represented at the upper secondary level. This leads us, as geography educators, to ponder – is physical geography’s position in Singapore’s school geography curriculum at risk?

This paper draws on Duncan Hawley’s chapter “What is the rightful place of physical geography?” in Debates in Geography Education (Lambert & Jones, 2013). It appositely explores the “rightful place of physical geography” by presenting the different arguments about physical geography’s position with regard to other disciplines (especially the sciences) and within the discipline itself. It also critically reflects on the implications of Hawley’s arguments on the teaching and learning of geography in the Singapore context.

Earth Science – Geography or Science?
With the use of Earth science as an example, Hawley (2013) presents the various viewpoints on the debate of whether Earth science should be positioned in the geography or science curriculum. Physical geography topics such as climatology and weather, geology and ecosystems, which can be collectively known as Earth science, often overlap in content with the sciences (biology, chemistry and physics), leading to academics like Gregory (2002, cited in Hawley, 2013, p. 90) to question the appropriateness of physical geography within geography. Hawley also acknowledges King’s argument (2011) that Earth science’s “rightful place” in education should be in the science curriculum as international test data has shown that students in countries where Earth science is an established science subject taught by teachers who specialise in Earth science, performed much better than the students who are from countries where “Earth science is not so strongly demarcated” (cited in Hawley, 2013 p. 91).

For this part of the debate on physical geography’s position with regard to the sciences, Hawley concurs with the complementary approach to understanding the physical aspects of the Earth, as advocated by the Geographical Association (2013, p. 91). He draws on the Geographical Association’s justification of how the “commonalities of earth science in physical geography and ‘deep’ earth science do not duplicate learning but are complementary, and both perspectives are advantageous and essential for effective learning” (Hawley, 2013 p. 92). Though Hawley (2103) does not openly state his stand, he seems to be supportive of this approach as he argues that it differentiates itself from the “conventional sciences” and is less generic than the usual Earth System science (p. 92).

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The Population White Paper: The hidden rationale for Singaporeans’ concern

Author/s:

Kesavan Thangam

Kesavan Thangam (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies) Keywords Social Studies History General Paper Junior College Secondary School Current affairs Introduction Singapore commemorates its golden jubilee this year with a slew of nation-wide events. This celebration serves as a point of reflection for Singapore’s achievement in the past 50 years. However, it is also timely and […]

Kesavan Thangam (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies)

Keywords
Social Studies
History
General Paper
Junior College
Secondary School
Current affairs

Introduction
Singapore commemorates its golden jubilee this year with a slew of nation-wide events. This celebration serves as a point of reflection for Singapore’s achievement in the past 50 years. However, it is also timely and crucial to reflect on issues that had sparked tensions amongst the citizenry. The promulgation of the Population White Paper (PWP) and its impact on Singaporeans has been an issue widely written by many academics but the rationale for Singaporeans’ reaction over the PWP has yet to be explored in greater depth. This paper, thus, weighs in on the reasons for Singaporeans to be less inclined in accepting the PWP.

Singaporeans sent a strong signal to the ruling political party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), during the 2011 General Election where only 60 percent of the votes were cast in favour of the PAP. In comparison, they garnered 75.3 percent of the votes in the 2001 general election (Ho, S.,2014). In just a decade, the ruling party had suffered a loss of 15.3 percent of the votes. The waning popularity of the party could be attributed to several hot-button issues including large influx of migrants into the city state (Banyan, 2011). A survey done by Institute of Policy Studies revealed 52 percent of voters felt immigration was an important issue in the 2011 election (Institute of Policy Studies, 2011). It was often argued that the expansion of migrant population had made Singaporeans feel like ‘strangers in their own country’ (Jones, 2012, pp. 311-336) and ‘perceive and experience the presence of foreigners in the work setting as taking away their jobs’ (Sun, 2014). This had thus, created the “us/them (Vasu & Cheong, 2014, pp. 1-23) divide among Singaporeans and foreigners in the city state. As such, it was no surprise that some Singaporeans were less inclined in accepting the Population White Paper.

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‘Little India’: Diverging Destinies in Heritage Spaces

Author/s:

Shaw Brian J.

Shaw Brian J. (The University of Western Australia, Australia) Keywords Social Studies Junior College Secondary School Managing Diversity Introduction As a colonial legacy of the spatial and political management of immigrant groups, Little India has evolved during Singapore’s post-independence era to service the needs of a developing community. While closely identified as an ‘Indian’ space by […]

Shaw Brian J. (The University of Western Australia, Australia)

Keywords
Social Studies
Junior College
Secondary School
Managing Diversity

Introduction
As a colonial legacy of the spatial and political management of immigrant groups, Little India has evolved during Singapore’s post-independence era to service the needs of a developing community. While closely identified as an ‘Indian’ space by Indian Singaporeans, it has developed significant appeal to other locals and foreign tourists, as well as migrant workers from South Asia. This area, showcasing one component of Singapore’s imagined CMIO community (Chinese, Malay, Indian and Other), has since the tumultuous events of 8^th December 2013, become the inadvertent focus of a much broader discussion on Singapore’s national multiracial resilience in an era of hyper-globalisation. This paper considers and questions the apparent destiny of Little India as one of Singapore’s most identifiable precincts in the context of post- 8^thDecember policing responses, the introduction of the new “Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill” and the expected findings of the established Committee of Inquiry (COI). Overwhelmingly, the government’s inclination to segment identity spaces within the heritage precinct as a means of social control and public order, specifically through the restriction of alcohol sales and consumption, appears to be a case of managing the visibility of marginalised groups in order to contain evolving tensions. We argue that this path of action does not adequately address the complexity of underlying causes that cannot be dismissed simply as alcohol related. A more nuanced analysis with more emphasis on the economic and social realities confronting the South Asian foreign worker in Singapore is required to understand the new multiculturalism now apparent in the city-state. Official bureaucratic demarcators of “foreign worker”, “foreign talent” or “permanent residents” (PR) mask an inequity of social, economic and personal dignities and destinies that further fragment Singapore’s carefully managed ethnic balance and social mosaic. We need to move beyond the managing and controlling of differences of 1965 to embrace the Brave New World of contemporary reality.

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The Beacon of Civic Conduct? Teaching Character and Citizenship Education in Singapore

Author/s:

Jackie

Context, Interests, and Unintended Consequences: Lenses for Seeing, Comprehending and Engaging with the World

Author/s:

Teo You Yenn

Teo You Yenn (Nanyang Technological University) Keywords Social Studies Secondary School Citizenship Sociology Perspective The White Paper on Population created quite a firestorm when it was released in 2013. Many critiques were launched against it – ranging from big and obvious worries about the sheer number of people who are expected to live in this small […]

Teo You Yenn (Nanyang Technological University)

Keywords
Social Studies
Secondary School
Citizenship
Sociology
Perspective

The White Paper on Population created quite a firestorm when it was released in 2013. Many critiques were launched against it – ranging from big and obvious worries about the sheer number of people who are expected to live in this small city; to complaints about where these people would come from; to very nitty-gritty critiques about the details and tone of the White Paper – right down to how nurses are referred to as low-skilled workers in the footnotes.

When the White Paper came out, I was teaching a course about Power, Politics and the State. The White Paper and the controversy around it became something that students and I discussed in class. Based on such experiences in teaching, I highlight the sorts of questions that I think we ought to get our students to ask and answer when policies are introduced and when controversies arise. As a teacher, I think we should be invested not so much in convincing students about our points of view, but in giving them the tools and lenses to think through problems.

So how do we do provide students with lenses and tools? As a sociologist, three things are key: interests, contexts, and unintended consequences. Let me say a few words about each of these and give some examples of how they are useful in discussing population issues.

Interests
Used crudely, people think that “interests” is about how someone is trying to gain something, trying to maximize their interests. But the way I want my students to think about interests is to pay attention to two related things: when we say the word “interests,” we are first and foremost pointing out that there is no neutral position from which to speak. All positions involve a point of view, and more specifically, somebody or some group’s point of view. They may take their point of view because there may in fact be some sort of material benefit or disadvantage involved. But at least equally often, they take that point of view because it fits into the worldview of not just themselves as individuals, but also into the various social groupings to which they belong.

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The “New” Multiculturalism: National and Educational Perspectives

Author/s:

Jackie

“No One Icon”: Secondary Students’ Judgments of Significant Representations of Singapore

Author/s:

Syazwani Binte Amrun

Syazwani Binte Amrun (Raffles Girls’ School) Keywords History Junior College Singapore Representation Significance Concept This study was designed to explore how students in a secondary school make sense about the significance of different representations of Singapore, and to examine their ideas on what they conceived as icons of Singapore. The research was conducted in a premier […]

Syazwani Binte Amrun (Raffles Girls’ School)

Keywords
History
Junior College
Singapore Representation
Significance
Concept

This study was designed to explore how students in a secondary school make sense about the significance of different representations of Singapore, and to examine their ideas on what they conceived as icons of Singapore. The research was conducted in a premier all-girls’ school in Singapore. The data used in this study was derived from semi-structured interviews that included both a task requiring students to choose from among a set of thirty captioned images, and a set of questions designed to elicit their understanding of significant representations of Singapore. Twelve students, aged 14 to 15 years old, were interviewed in groups of either three or four per group.

The key question guiding this study was “What is the icon of Singapore today?” In order to address this question, students were expected to work with the concept of significance in history. Although the question did not specifically require students to refer to their knowledge of Singapore’s history or to have them make connections with representations of Singapore’s past, student responses may shed light on the way they think about the country’s past, and enable us to build a picture about how they perceive their identity and the country’s heritage. By identifying items they believed were iconic representations of Singapore, students’ responses appeared to reveal the kind of values they held about the country and the means by which they identified themselves as Singaporeans. The findings from this study will be useful for educators in planning programmes that would enhance our students’ understanding of specific icons and cultivate in them a deeper appreciation for Singapore.

Research Methods
Setting and Participants
This study involved interviews with twelve students from three different Year Three classes, with the age of participants ranging from 14 to 15 years old. These students were selected to participate in this study as they had all completed one year of studying Singapore’s history in Year Two. The decision to select Year Three students also was made with the assumption that participants would have a basic knowledge of Singapore’s history as their understanding of the milestones in Singapore’s history may affect their perception of what they conceived as iconic of Singapore. All the students involved in the study were Singapore citizens except for two who were Singapore Permanent Residents (PR). The students selected consisted of both high and average achievers within their history classes, and the selection also took into consideration the ethnic backgrounds of the participants. Students were interviewed in fours largely due to convenience as these interviews were conducted during breaks in their curriculum time. The first group of students consisted of two ethnic Chinese Singaporeans and two ethnic Indians (one of whom was a PR from India); the second group of students consisted of 4 ethnic Chinese Singaporeans; and the last group consisted of one ethnic Chinese Singaporean student and three ethnic Malay students (one of whom was a PR from Indonesia). For more information of the participants, refer to Appendix A.

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Index

Sim Hwee Hwang

Authors List

Authors List

Conceptual Teaching in Primary Social Studies: Teaching the Primary Three Reader,“Making the Little Red Dot Blue and Brown” in a Conceptual Way

Diversity: Approaches to building conceptual understanding in the Social Studies classroom

Developing Conceptual Understanding in Social Studies Using Technology and Discussion

The “rightful place” of Physical Geography in Singapore’s School Geography Curriculum

The Population White Paper: The hidden rationale for Singaporeans’ concern

‘Little India’: Diverging Destinies in Heritage Spaces

The Beacon of Civic Conduct? Teaching Character and Citizenship Education in Singapore

Context, Interests, and Unintended Consequences: Lenses for Seeing, Comprehending and Engaging with the World

The “New” Multiculturalism: National and Educational Perspectives

“No One Icon”: Secondary Students’ Judgments of Significant Representations of Singapore

HSSE Online

HSSE Online