Dennis Kwek is Centre Director of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP), and Associate Dean at the Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education. A Senior Research Scientist with over 25 years of research experience in the UK and Singapore, his research interests include system studies in education, policy research, classroom pedagogies, sociology and philosophy of education, and teacher professional development. This article is based on his keynote address at the Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference 2022 titled “Cultivating Robust Education Research for the 21st Century: The Interesting Case of Singapore”.

People

issue 81 jun 2022

Boosting Education Research to Prepare for a Volatile Future

In his keynote address at the Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference 2022, Dr Dennis Kwek, Centre Director of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice at NIE, talks about Singapore’s journey in education research and discusses ways to strengthen research in a post-COVID era. He frames his presentation through three movements: the first movement paints a big picture of education reform and education research in Singapore; the second introduces two key ideas, education system building and research as dialogue with examples; while the third and final movement links both together and provides suggestions for schools and researchers. Below is an edited transcript of Dr Kwek’s keynote address.

Important Lessons from the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new paradoxes and accelerated changes that are challenging existing structures. Looking back, there are four important lessons for Singapore’s education and education research.

The first is to build robust systems in government, schools and societies. Robustness is the ability for our system, be it government, schools, societies, to be able to function, survive and thrive in the midst of crisis. To achieve this, we need to accelerate educational change that prepares for future challenges.

The second is to maximize learning opportunities for all. The pandemic has laid bare inequalities in our societies. Tackling this issue can be a significant challenge, given that our classroom structures have not changed much over 150 years since the Second Industrial Revolution.

The third is building infrastructures and processes that are reactive and adaptive to sudden changes. The fourth and last lesson is to prepare learners for a future that is filled with information overload, uncertainties, misinformation and disinformation.

Central to all this is the argument that we need to maintain the edge in educational expertise so that any gains we can make are not lost, and we need to accumulate this knowledge to build the future.

Strategic Shifts in the Education System

Since Singapore’s independence, the education system has shifted in phases: from centralized control to bottom–up initiatives and more school autonomy, from teacher-centric approaches to student-centered pedagogies, and from school access and opportunities to instructional quality. It is this focus on instructional quality that I want to dive a bit deeper into.

What is the difference between a school system and an education system? A school system focuses largely on building schools and putting children into those schools, as well as equipping classrooms with teachers and teaching materials.

An education system, on the other hand, focuses less on structures, but more on the key education function. It involves the day-to-day work of teachers and students in classroom instruction. Schools, offices and teachers are expected to collaborate to ensure quality and equity in students’ education experiences and outcomes. To achieve this, educational infrastructures, structures and resources are built and mobilized to coordinate and support instruction, and enable instructional improvement towards instructional quality and coherence.

Building a school system is something we have been doing in the first two phases of our education reform, especially during the first phase after independence.

From 1997 onwards, the launch of the “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation” (TSLN) and “Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM) initiatives marked a shift in focus. More emphasis was put on building an education system and on improving instructional quality and coherence.

To achieve instructional quality and coherence as part of education system building, I advocate a dialogic approach which can encourage connections and connectedness between theory and practice.

“A school system focuses largely on building schools and putting children into those schools, as well as equipping classrooms with teachers and teaching materials. An education system, on the other hand, focuses less on structures, but more on the key education function.”

– Dennis, on the difference between a school system and an education system

Two Key Studies that Connect Theory and Practice

There are two studies conducted at NIE’s Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP), set up in 2002, that exemplify the key ideas on education system building and the dialogic approach.

CORE Research Programme on Classroom Pedagogies

One of CRPP’s first large-scale baseline studies that explores the nature of teaching and learning is still ongoing today. With an explicit focus on everyday classroom pedagogy, it differs from other international studies in that we do not seek to conduct an evaluation of teachers’ performance or school effectiveness. Rather we seek to document changes over time to instructional practices through the use of contextually relevant classroom research instruments that support new policy developments.

The study reveals that the education system is gradually moving away from rote learning, procedural knowledge, and drill and practice approaches, to emphasizing more on teaching for conceptual understanding and metacognitive knowledge, as well as the use of formative assessment.

The findings have led NIE to relook and revamp its teacher preparation programme and training as well as MOE professional development efforts to improve teachers’ pedagogical repertoires. New training programmes have been mounted to help teachers address those gaps identified in our studies.

Results of the studies have also led to policy refinements. We have involved more collaborators from the Ministry to enhance the utility and relevance of our research. We have increased the number of school subjects and levels to make our studies more comprehensive and useful. Importantly, however, we have improved our reporting timeline, as we realize that the Ministry operates at a faster pace than research does. In short, research must be rigorous, relevant and timely.

Knowledge Building Efforts

The second study refers to Knowledge Building research. Changing classroom practice is always a complex matter and so Knowledge Building communities are created to support the design of Knowledge Building classrooms and design studios.

The community brings teachers, school leaders, researchers and students together on a regular basis to share innovative work and to create community knowledge on research and practice. Not only that, it is also connected to many international communities making it a rich environment for many ideas to connect and evolve.

I am heartened to learn that our Knowledge Building efforts are aligned with the Minister for Education Mr Chan Chun Sing’s vision for learning and teaching as outlined in his virtual address at this conference.

Building an Education System of the Future

The four lessons can be transformed into four drivers for education system building for both researchers and practitioners.

To tackle an increasing complex education landscape, we need to enhance our core strengths in teaching and learning, and accelerate their improvements.

To maximize learning potential for all learners, we are at the stage where we can seriously think about creating personalized learning opportunities in some domains and differentiated pedagogies in others. In addition, a focus on life-long learning, values and ethics education, well-being and technology enabled learning will help us to push into the future.

To cater to an increasingly uncertain future, new leading-edge research that might require a longer runway to impact is needed. Focusing on new approaches can provide a deeper insight into the core strengths in teaching and learning. New methods and new theories should also be considered.

To tackle increasing complex challenges, researchers need to take a whole of system approach, involving multiple stakeholders, such as parents and community organizations. Likewise, schools should think outside the box and perhaps consider stakeholders that they may not typically engage.

The Purpose of Education

“I propose that perhaps it is time to think of an education compact — one that is focused on how everyone can be involved in improving teaching and learning.”

– Dennis on an ‘education compact’

It is time to rethink the purpose of education. The link between education and economy has been a longstanding trademark of our education system. I propose that perhaps it is time to think of an education compact — one that is focused on how everyone can be involved in improving teaching and learning.

I would like to bring your attention to the International Network of Educational Institutes’ statement where, as educators, the collective institutions have stated that the aim of education is to nurture and support individuals and groups in their developments of their social, physical, mental, and emotional well–being, through processes of inclusive and responsive teaching and learning (International Network of Educational Institutes, 2020).

This is not necessarily in contradiction with the aims of our education system in fulfilling economic growth. Afterall a good, healthy, stable person will invariably contribute much better to the economy than one less so.

The statement also points to the importance of the role of researchers and practitioners in contributing to this aim.

Let us all take some time to think about and have a dialogue on the new educational compact.

Reference

International Network of Educational Institutes. (2020, July 10). Statement on the Global Coronavirus Pandemic. Retrieved from: https://education.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/3445465/INEI-Statement-PDF-version-final-200721.pdf