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Social Studies and Citizenship Education: Teacher Knowledge and Practice in Singapore Secondary Schools

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Social Studies and Citizenship Education: Teacher Knowledge and Practice in Singapore Secondary Schools THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Copyright and use of this thesis This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author -subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Copyright Service. sydney.edu.au/copyright SOCIAL STUDIES AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION: TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE IN SINGAPORE SECONDARY SCHOOLS JASMINE BOON-YEE SIM 2006 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any degree of diploma in any other University and other institution and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. This thesis conforms to the requirements of the University’s Ethics Committee and it does not exceed the upper word limit for the degree. Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support and love of many people. I wish to express my most sincere gratitude to my supervisor and mentor, A/Prof Murray Print, for his guidance, support and investment in my growth as a scholar. Thank you, Murray for challenging me intellectually with the many hours of discussion on this topic of citizenship, and throughout the writing of this thesis. Thank you also for the thorough review of all my drafts. I appreciate your mentorship, for sharing with me your hopes and fine ideas, and in challenging me to think beyond the PhD, to what I can be as a scholar. I count as one of life’s blessings to have worked with you on this thesis. I also wish to thank my associate supervisor, Dr Llian Merritt, for her constructive suggestions throughout the writing process, and her consistent encouragement and support. Llian, your encouragement throughout my doctoral journey was invaluable. I am grateful to my friends at the National Institute of Education Singapore for their support throughout my doctoral journey. I am especially grateful to A/Prof Christine Lee for her advice, encouragement and support. Special mention also goes to Dr Chen Ai Yen, Ee Moi, Seok Hong, Susan, Chew Hung and Jocelyn for their encouragement, insights and good humour. Thank you in particular to Min Fui, Hwee Hwang and Kai Ling for reading my drafts even in your busiest times. I truly appreciate your help. I thank the University of Sydney and DEST for the award of the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship. I would especially like to recognise the eight teachers who participated in this study. Thank you for your interest in citizenship education and for your support of my doctoral study. I am grateful to you for giving me your time and in opening up your classrooms to me. Most of all, I thank my family for their unconditional love, never ending support and the personal sacrifices they have made to see this work to completion. This thesis has been made possible due to the support from my mother, who unselfishly gave her time, effort and love in helping me look after my two sons - thank you, mum; my husband Chen for his love, understanding, practical support and constant faith in my abilities; and my sons, Isaac and Philip for their love, understanding and patience, and for the little notes of encouragement they always left on my desk in the last phase of my writing. Thanks also to my sister and father for their support. I am also grateful to all others who have helped in one way or another. Finally, I thank the Lord for providing me strength and insight daily. To Him be the honour, glory and praise. 11 Dedicated to: My dear mother, the pillar of the family. Teacher Knowledge and Practice: Social Studies and Citizenship Education in Singapore Secondary Schools Jasmine Boon-Yee Sim A thesis submitted to the University of Sydney in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Education and Social Work University of Sydney 2006 Abstract This is a study of citizenship education as viewed through the lens of the school subject called social studies. Specifically, it is about teachers’ understandings of social studies and citizenship education, and how these understandings influence their teaching. The conceptual frame of teacher curricular-instructional gatekeeping (Thornton, 1989, 1991, 2005a) was used to explore teachers’ understandings and practice of social studies and citizenship education. The study was conceptualised around a case study design using qualitative research methods. Eight teachers were selected as cases. The interest was in understanding categories and features of similarities or differences across cases. Data were collected through extensive interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. This study found that teachers’ understandings and practice of social studies and citizenship education were located in three distinct groups, characterised as nationalistic, socially concerned and person oriented teacher stances respectively. Four teachers were dominantly nationalistic, with two further characterised as conservative, and two as progressive. Two teachers were essentially socially concerned, and the final two were dominantly person oriented. The study’s findings clarified the concept of teacher curricular-instructional gatekeeping within the social studies curriculum even in a tightly controlled education system such as Singapore. The findings reflected a citizenship education landscape in Singapore that was not as rigid, prescriptive and homogenous as previous research on the Asian region had suggested. The study found a strong relationship existed between the teachers’ understandings of social studies and citizenship education, and how the subject was taught. It substantiated the significance of teacher knowledge and illustrated the relationship between knowledge and practice even in a tightly controlled system of education with a prescribed curriculum. It suggested that when the teacher understood the subject matter of social studies to be IV problematic, it begot a broader conception of citizenship, leading to teaching for or through citizenship. In contrast, when the teacher understood the subject matter of social studies not to be problematic, it begot a narrow conception of citizenship, leading to teaching about citizenship. Overall, there was consistency between understandings and practice, often mediated by the role of the personal. The implication is to go beyond a technical conception of curriculum and recognise teacher knowledge and agency in contested social studies and citizenship education. The findings revealed a broadening perspective of citizenship and citizenship education superseding national loyalty. Further, citizenship education must be integral component of social studies teacher education, providing opportunities to work on alternative representations, and engage in the discourse on social studies and citizenship education. v Table of Contents Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iv Table of Contents vi List of Figures and Tables X 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Background to the Problem 2 1.3 The Problem 5 1.4 Aims of the Study 9 1.5 Rationale for the Study 9 1.6 Conceptual Framework 11 1.6.1 A Curriculum Perspective 11 1.6.2 The Centrality o f the Teacher 13 1.6.3 Curriculum Positions 14 1.7 Significance of the Study 15 1.8 Organisation of the Study 16 2 Literature Review 18 2.1 Social Studies 18 2.1.1 Defining Social Studies 18 2.1.2 The Relationship between Social Studies and 22 Citizenship Education 2.1.3 Traditions in Social Studies 24 2.1.4 Alternatives to the Traditions o f Social Studies 28 2.2 Citizenship Education 32 2.2.1 The Concept o f Citizenship 32 2.2.2 Key Studies on Citizenship and Citizenship Education 34 2.2.3 Desirable Citizenship Attributes and Citizenship 37 Education 2.2.4 A Continuum of Citizenship Education 40 2.3 Teacher Knowledge 44 2.3.1 Teacher as the Curricular-Instructional Gatekeeper 44 2.3.2 Knowledge, Conceptualisations and Understanding in 47 this Study 2.3.3 The Teacher’s Knowledge Base 49 2.3.4 Teachers and Contexts 57 2.4 S um m ary 58 3 Research Design 60 3.1 Introduction 60 vi 3.2 Selection of the Qualitative Research Methodology 60 3.3 The Case Study as a Research Method 62 3.4 Site Selection 66 3.5 Selection of Cases 67 3.6 Data Collection 70 3.6.1 First Phase: Orientation and Overview 71 3.6.2 Second Phase: Focused Exploration 72 3.6.3 Third Phase: Member Check 73 3.7 Sources of Data 73 3.7.1 Interviews 73 3.7.2 Classroom Observations 75 3.7.3
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