Singapore is no stranger to top global education rankings and this success can be attributed to the nation’s rigorous and comprehensive education system. Additionally, the Singapore government also emphasizes the development of high quality education research through its investment in the National Institute of Education’s (NIE) first research centre that was established in 2002, the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP). Twenty years on and with the birth of two other research centres, CRPP remains steadfast in its aim to nurture and build a community of education researchers, and develop comprehensive research programmes to facilitate classroom interventions, and impact policy and pedagogical practice. As Singapore continues to evolve and grow, how and why will education research remain a key priority for NIE?

Professor Christine Goh is the Director of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Professor David Hung is Dean of Office of Education Research (OER) at NIE and Dennis Kwek is Director of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice and Associate Dean (Strategic Engagement) of OER at NIE.

A Commitment To Research

Education research plays a critical role in improving the quality of education and ensuring that every student has equal opportunities to succeed. Furthermore, research at NIE helps to inform education policy and contributes to the enhancement of learning and teaching within NIE and the schools.

“Education research helps to identify effective teaching and learning strategies, curriculum design and instructional materials. These research findings help educators make informed decisions about what works best for their students, leading to improved student performance and outcomes,” shares Professor David Hung, Dean of NIE’s Office of Education Research (OER), a research office that coordinates the institute’s three education research centres.

The OER plans and delivers the research agenda of the office and institute at large. Apart from the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP), OER also oversees the Centre for Research in Child Development, which focuses on children development and learning, and Science of Learning in Education Centre, which brings together several research disciplines, including neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, technology and education.

“Given that NIE has multiple research centres with different aspects of focus, we hope that the research findings we have generated over the decades can also help inform education policy,” Professor Hung adds. “Education research provides evidence-based information that can inform education policy decisions at the national level. Hopefully, our research findings can help policymakers make informed decisions about programme development for schools.”

As we take into account the fact that the education landscape is fast-changing, brought on by technological advances and the need for learners to manage increasing unpredictability, how can we ensure that education research at NIE remains relevant and useful for both our teachers and learners?

Inter-Disciplinary Research for the Uncertain Future 

“Every 5 years, our office takes stock of the changes that have happened in the education landscape and re-strategize its research agenda through the development of different research programmes,” Professor Hung shares. This helps to ensure that researchers will embark on projects that will produce findings relevant, timely and useful for schools.

In this instance, in April 2023, OER enters its 5th cycle of research funding from the education ministry and through an ecological scan of various factors including MOE’s research and national agenda, the institute has developed an overall strategic research agenda: “Strengthen Singapore’s Education for the Uncertain Future”. This agenda is set to serve the institute’s research direction until the next cycle in 2028.

“In the next 5 years, I envision the use of innovative approaches for examining diverse education-related questions,” NIE Director Professor Christine Goh says. “Education researchers must learn to work with researchers from other disciplines and beyond NIE to use cutting edge research tools to examine perennial and new questions about education for the future. Researchers from other disciplines will also learn to use their expertise by leveraging the expertise of education researchers to solve education problems collaboratively and synergistically.”

While the institute has always encouraged its education research scientists and academic faculty to collaborate on research projects, the next tranche of research will likely see an exponential increase of such cross collaborations within the institute and even beyond. This could mean a combination of different focus areas such as brain sciences, physical education and language coming together in a single research project.

“I am confident that through such inter-disciplinary thinking and multi-disciplinary approaches, NIE will take the next leap in our research and education to inform policy, innovate new pedagogies, and provide research- and theory-informed applications in education. The result will be rich Singapore insights informing the global education community in these critical and promising areas,” Professor Goh adds.

Advancing Research  

Aside from building on inter-disciplinary research at NIE, Centre Director of CRPP, Dr Dennis Kwek, highlights how the institution is also furthering its efforts in developing collaborative long-term relationships between researchers and practitioners on the ground. Better engagement between researchers, school leaders and teachers, he says, is another crucial aspect of advancing education research in Singapore.

“Research-practice-policy partnerships refer to not just collaborative relationships among researchers and academic faculties, but also among practitioners and policymakers,” Dennis explains. “These partnerships are vital in our efforts to close the gap between research and practice. They are also crucial in developing and advancing impactful policies that are informed by evidence-based research.”

Professor Goh emphasizes how NIE remains committed to its mission of advancing research. “As Singapore’s national institute of education, research in education and education-related disciplines will remain NIE’s foremost focus. At the same time, NIE will continue to support the advancement of all faculty research that adds to human knowledge and inspires our student teachers and postgraduate students in the pursuit of their respective disciplines,” she affirms.

Teachers as Researchers 

In a classroom of diverse learning needs, how can teachers be responsive to the needs of their students and create more effective and engaging learning environments?

“One way to do that is by engaging in ongoing inquiry and reflection to improve their teaching practices,” Dennis, who is also Associate Dean (Strategic Engagement) at OER, says. “Teachers are professionals who work with students every day and as such, they are in a unique position that allows them to observe, analyse and understand their students’ learning process.”

By conducting research in their own classrooms, teachers can identify areas for improvement, test new teaching strategies and gather data to inform their instructional decisions. In addition to benefiting their students, the research findings can also contribute to the larger body of knowledge in education. Teachers can share their findings with other educators and participate in collaborative research projects to expand the understanding of best practices in teaching.

However, support from the schools is required for effective research to occur. Resources such as time and access to research tools are essential to facilitate meaningful research in classrooms. “Teachers also need training and guidance to develop research skills and methodologies that can be applied to their teaching,” Dennis adds. “As part of our efforts to encourage teachers to embark on research, we have created a platform called the Educator-Researcher Connect within SingTeach that aims to bridge teachers and our NIE researchers to collaborate on a research project.”

The concept of teachers as researchers recognizes the valuable contributions that teachers can make to the field of education through ongoing inquiry and reflection. By engaging in research in their own classrooms, teachers can also promote a culture of lifelong learning.