Analysis of the Singapore Social Studies Syllabus
Analysis of the Singapore Social Studies Syllabus
Abstract
Launched in 2001, the secondary social studies curriculum is seen as the primary vehicle to implement citizenship education in Singapore, and a crucial pillar of the government’s tripartite plan of National Education (NE) in schools. Broadly, the plan uses simplified slogans to categorize and underline the aims and intended outcomes expected of each level of education – “Love Singapore” is the focus of NE in primary schools, “Know Singapore” for secondary schools, and “Lead Singapore” in junior colleges, or pre-universities (Adler & Sim, 2008).
Citizenship education was perceived by the Singapore Government as a critical tool to instill shared national values, patriotism, a sense of belonging and pride, and build an active citizenry. However, in response to the changing dynamics of the world – namely, globalization and interconnectivity (and some might include heightened fears of transnational terrorism post 9/11) – an issues-based social studies curriculum with a global focus was developed (Ho, 2009) to incorporate international case studies so as to approach the subject of national building using a global focus.
What makes a “good” citizen?
Every nation desires good citizens. But each has its own definition of what makes a “good” citizen. Universally, there seems to be some general consensus on certain desirable attributes of a good citizen that transcend political systems – attributes that are grounded on morality, character and values (respect, love, kindness, considerate, responsible, law-abiding, etc). Additionally, however, Westheimer & Kahne (2004) identified three constructs of citizenship: personal responsibility, participatory and justice orientation.
According to the authors, the attributes we highlighted earlier would fit nicely into the concept of a personally responsible citizen. A participatory citizen, in the words of the researchers, is one who is actively involved in
Abstract
Launched in 2001, the secondary social studies curriculum is seen as the primary vehicle to implement citizenship education in Singapore, and a crucial pillar of the government’s tripartite plan of National Education (NE) in schools. Broadly, the plan uses simplified slogans to categorize and underline the aims and intended outcomes expected of each level of education – “Love Singapore” is the focus of NE in primary schools, “Know Singapore” for secondary schools, and “Lead Singapore” in junior colleges, or pre-universities (Adler & Sim, 2008).
Citizenship education was perceived by the Singapore Government as a critical tool to instill shared national values, patriotism, a sense of belonging and pride, and build an active citizenry. However, in response to the changing dynamics of the world – namely, globalization and interconnectivity (and some might include heightened fears of transnational terrorism post 9/11) – an issues-based social studies curriculum with a global focus was developed (Ho, 2009) to incorporate international case studies so as to approach the subject of national building using a global focus.
What makes a “good” citizen?
Every nation desires good citizens. But each has its own definition of what makes a “good” citizen. Universally, there seems to be some general consensus on certain desirable attributes of a good citizen that transcend political systems – attributes that are grounded on morality, character and values (respect, love, kindness, considerate, responsible, law-abiding, etc). Additionally, however, Westheimer & Kahne (2004) identified three constructs of citizenship: personal responsibility, participatory and justice orientation.
According to the authors, the attributes we highlighted earlier would fit nicely into the concept of a personally responsible citizen. A participatory citizen, in the words of the researchers, is one who is actively involved in
References: Westheimer, J. & Kahne, J. (2004). Educating the “good” citizen: Political choices and pedagogical goals. PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 41, No. 2, p. 241-247. Adler, S., & Sim, J. B.-Y. (2008). Secondary social studies in Singapore: Intentions and contradictions. In D. L. Grossman & J. T.-Y. Lo (Eds.), Social education in Asia: Critical issues and multiple perspectives (pp. 163-182). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Allen, R. F. (1996). The Engle-Ochoa decision making model for citizenship education. In R. W. Evans & D. W. Saxe (Eds.), Handbook on teaching social issues (pp. 51-58). Washington, DC: National Council for the Social Studies. Ho, L. C. (2009). Global multicultural citizenship education: A Singapore experience. The Social Studies, 100(6), 285-293.