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NATIONAL IDENTITY and YOUNG CHILDREN: a COMPARATIVE STUDY of 4TH and 5TH GRADERS in SINGAPORE and the UNITED STATES by Serene S Koh

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NATIONAL IDENTITY and YOUNG CHILDREN: a COMPARATIVE STUDY of 4TH and 5TH GRADERS in SINGAPORE and the UNITED STATES by Serene S Koh NATIONAL IDENTITY AND YOUNG CHILDREN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 4TH AND 5TH GRADERS IN SINGAPORE AND THE UNITED STATES by Serene S Koh A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Education) in the University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor Jeffrey E. Mirel, Chair Associate Professor Robert B. Bain Associate Professor Ann C. Lin Associate Professor Carla O’Connor “No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.” - Kofi Annan © Serene S. Koh 2010 DEDICATION To Ah Ma, my grandmother. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank the chair of my committee and my adviser, Jeff Mirel, for being the best mentor anyone could ask for. His unwavering guidance through the years and utmost faith that this dissertation would get written helped to make not only the writing of this thesis but my entire graduate career a truly wonderful experience. I knew I lucked out when he offered to teach me how to drive in the snow my first winter in Ann Arbor those many, many years ago. To my committee members, I offer my sincerest gratitude. I always find myself thinking hardest and producing some of my best work when talking with Bob Bain. I will always appreciate the intellectual rigor and high expectations to which he held me. This dissertation—and I-- owe a great debt to Ann Lin, whose enthusiasm about my project and insightful comments throughout the writing process helped me through some of my toughest times. And I thank Carla O’Connor for being an inspiring academic- she provided me with the kind of incisive and thoughtful feedback I can only hope to offer my own students in the future. Although they were not on my dissertation committee, I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge several other faculty members in the School of Education who have been vital in my growth as a scholar. Gary Fenstermacher was the person who first inspired me to think about issues of citizenship and national identity in schools. He has since retired and therefore was not able to serve on my committee, but all that I have learned from him will never been far from my mind or my work. Valerie Lee has been a model for the kind of researcher I aspire to be- exacting, meticulous, and always with an eye towards issues of equity. I thank her for always taking a keen interest in my personal and professional life, and for all the advice she has so kindly shared over the years. My research skills were developed and refined by working on Susan B. Neuman’s literacy projects. She generously supported me with an assistantship for the larger part of my doctoral career and has always shown such care and concern for my overall welfare. This dissertation would not have been possible without the help of the teachers and students of the schools at which I conducted my study. They graciously welcomed me into their classrooms and I will be eternally grateful for their patience and time. If only all researchers could as blessed as I to work with subjects of such candor, warmth, and intellect. Many thanks to the Novi School District and the Ministry of Education in Singapore for facilitating the research process. I gratefully acknowledge the institutional support that I received while working on this project. Specifically, I thank the Rackham Graduate School and the School of Education for providing me with several grants that covered travel and research-related iii expenses, and especially for a generous fellowship that supported me during the last phase of my writing. I want to thank the good friends that I have made in Michigan for their support and camaraderie throughout my time in graduate school. Sarah Tucker, Julie Dwyer, Tanya Wright, Serena Salloum, Christine Meyer, Anne-Lise Halvorsen, and Deborah Michaels have all in one way or another been a source of friendship, encouragement, intellectual guidance, and inspiration. I would be lost without the unconditional love of my family. My parents (Dad & Mom), sisters (Sherri and Samantha Koh), and brother-in-law (Foo Piao Zhou) have never let the thousands of miles between us get in the way of concerned phone-calls, long Skype conversations, or lovingly packaged care-boxes. Thank you for believing in me. And finally, to the two loves of my life- I thank our daughter Sophie for being such a good sleeper which allowed me to do some good writing after her bedtime. She otherwise made no contribution whatsoever to this project, but still deserves thanks for being fabulous and wonderful just the same. And I give my deepest thanks to my husband, Jude Yew, for his love, support, and faith in me and this project. I would not have survived graduate school without him. I am profoundly grateful to him for finding time to read every draft of this dissertation despite working hard on his own. This dissertation would be nothing without him. I would be nothing without him. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF APPENDICES x ABSTRACT xi CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 TWO: Existing research on schools and national identity 13 2.1. The Discursive Nature of National Identity Development 14 2.2. Why Children and National Identity? 26 2.2.1. Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Perspectives 29 2.2.2. Cognitive-Developmental Perspectives 30 2.2.3. Political Socialization Perspectives 35 2.2.4. “New” Sociology of Childhood 37 2.3. Schools As Sites of National Identity Formation 41 2.3.1. The Contested Role of Textbooks 44 2.3.2. The School Curriculum 46 2.3.3. The Role of Teachers 48 2.3.4. The Role of Students 50 v THREE: A Comparative Framework and Methodology 54 3.1. Citizenship education vs. civic education 55 3.2. National Identity and Citizenship Education in Multicultural Societies: 59 The Importance of Culture and Comparison 3.3. The Context of Citizenship Education in the United States and Singapore 60 3.3.1. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 61 3.3.2. Singapore’s Independence: 1965 63 3.3.3. Another common challenge 65 3.4. Citizenship Education in the U.S. and Singapore 70 3.5. Study Objective 76 3.6. Methodology 77 3.6.1. Analysis of documents (Social Studies curriculum and policy 79 documents) 3.6.2. Sample 80 3.6.3. Issue of Consent 81 3.6.4. Research Model 82 3.6.5. Analysis 88 FOUR: Singapore 89 4.1. The Schools 90 4.2. The Material Story 91 4.3. The Cultural 97 4.3.1. Language 97 4.3.2. Racial harmony 103 4.4. The Historical 106 4.5. The Political 111 4.5.1. Defense 111 4.5.2. Birth place 113 4.5.3. Citizenship 114 vi 4.5.4. Government 118 4.6. The Role of the School in National Identity Formation 122 FIVE: The United States 130 5.1. The Schools 131 5.2. The Creedal Story 131 5.2.1. The Flag 134 5.3. The Cultural 138 5.3.1. Religious freedom 138 5.4. The Historical 141 5.5. The Political 151 5.5.1. Voting 154 5.5.2. Comparisons with other nations 158 5.6. The Role of the School in National Identity Formation 163 SIX: Of Comparisons and Contrasts 172 6.1. The Different Stories Children Tell 172 6.2. Race and Ethnicity 180 6.3. Immigrant status 209 SEVEN: Conclusion 227 7.1. The Construction of National Identity 228 7.2. Children’s Agency in the Construction of National Identity 231 7.3. Schools and the Development of National Identity 233 7.4. The Story of Children and National Identity 235 7.5. A Note About Context 237 APPENDICES 240 BIBLIOGRAPHY 242 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 3.1: Components of citizenship education 57 4.1: Children’s drawings of Singapore’s developmental progress 92 4.2: Use of Singlish in Singapore 100 4.3: The four races in Singapore 105 4.4: Children’s images of war and the military 111 5.1: Lionel’s drawing of George Washington defeating the British 132 5.2: Importance of freedom 133 5.3: Importance of the American flag 134 5.4: Religious freedom in America 139 5.5: Importance of voting 156 6.1: African-American freedom 194 6.2: Two flags of America 203 6.3: Multi-racial view of America. 206 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 3.1: Description of research sites 80 3.2: Demographic information of research sites 81 ix LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Social Studies Benchmarks in Novi School district 240 B: The Core Democratic Values 241 x ABSTRACT Debates about nationality and identity have particular relevance for multicultural nations such as Singapore and the United States where recent trends in immigration and an increasing multiplicity of identities problematize the notion of citizenship. Given that a nation’s schools are where the dominant discourse of nation identity and history are promulgated, we need to study the role of schools in citizenship formation if we are to understand how and why citizens develop commitment to the nation. My study adopts a comparative perspective by looking at the curriculum and students in Singapore and the United States. I propose that Singapore shares with the U.S.
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