In the dynamic landscape of modern education, Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) stands as an essential pillar in nurturing well-rounded individuals. Rooted in the belief that education extends beyond academic achievements, Singapore has long recognized the importance of equipping students with values, ethics and civic responsibility. In this article, Director of the newly established Singapore Centre for Character and Citizenship Education at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Professor Tan Oon Seng, sheds some light on the significance of CCE, its implications on a nation’s progress, challenges faced by educators and the evolving dimensions that warrant special attention.

Significance of CCE in Singapore

“When our society weathered the challenges of the pandemic here in Singapore, we relied on two foundational characteristics: science and social responsibility,” Prof Tan, who started off his career as a teacher in 1983 and was former Director of NIE from 2014 to 2018, recounts.

Singapore is recognized as a country that always strives for scientific, technological and digital advances to propel the nation forward. “And equally important as seen in the COVID-19 crisis is the character and citizen aspects of social responsibility that enabled us to overcome challenges. As such, the realities of today’s world call for education to enhance both adaptability and foundations,” he adds.

The intentionality to flourish character, well-being and citizenship led to the establishment of the Singapore Centre for Character and Citizenship Education (SCCCE), the first of its kind in the region. Officially launched at the recent Ministry of Education’s Teachers’ Conference and ExCEL Fest on 30 May 2023, SCCCE was launched by the Minister of Education Mr Chan Chun Sing who emphasized that education in Singapore faces two major challenges in the coming years, firstly, a more connected yet more fragmented world around us, and secondly, an increasingly diverse population.

Borrowing an analogy from genomics, Prof Tan alludes that “every society needs to constantly be aware of their ‘DNA’, namely, how people perceive their Democratic values, National citizenship and Affiliations.”

“As a democratic society, we nurture in every generation the ideals of respect, justice and equality. Through the pandemic, our collaborative efforts as a community demonstrate our national identity, as citizens across ages, workers and professionals arise to cooperate and to serve each other. We also need to strengthen our sense of belonging – how people build Affiliations – especially in a new era of social media where misinformation can influence our social compact,” said Prof Tan.

“It is most timely that we renew our diligence to address the nurturing of virtues for the next generation as individuals, fellow human beings and members of society,” Prof Tan, who is currently leading the Centre, shares.

Role of Educators in CCE

Central to CCE is the belief that educators play a pivotal role in shaping the character of their students. By integrating values education into their teaching strategies, teachers can create environments that foster empathy, integrity and responsibility.

“Teachers are the real catalyst for effective CCE and there is a great need to equip them with CCE pedagogy, facilitation skills, and the understanding that CCE is not just taught but largely caught through school culture and school climate as well as teachers’ role modeling,” Prof Tan explains. “We hope to strengthen teachers’ understanding and competencies in terms of both depth and breadth in the nurturing of the values of character, resilience, intra and interpersonal intelligences, well-being, active citizenship and future readiness.”

While the benefits of CCE are undeniable, educators encounter a myriad of challenges in its effective implementation. CCE is not just about the curriculum, lessons and programmes. For example, there is a need for a consistent and coherent ecology of positive relationships and empowerment of student voices. Fostering character is not a one-time endeavour; it requires sustained effort and reinforcement throughout a student’s educational journey.

Understanding the changing profile of our learners and having dialogue and conversations necessitate creative and engaging approaches to maintain students’ interest. Understanding that character education and social emotional learning as complementing academic rigor is an important perspective. Educators must strike a delicate equilibrium between preparing students for academic success and instilling essential life skills and values. This requires innovative curriculum design and collaborative efforts among educators, parents and policymakers.

“People who enter the teaching profession do so with a purpose of influencing and making a difference to the lives of students. The schools are the frontlines in impacting our future generations,” Prof Tan asserts. “The CCE Centre hopes to collaborate with schools to explore and innovate learning in areas pertaining to CCE that meets the needs and aspirations of our students.”

Instilling Values a Constant in CCE

In the face of a rapidly changing world, educators must adapt their approach to character development. However, according to Prof Tan, one thing remains a constant despite all the shifts: values.

“During my Teacher Education Deanship years, I coined the V³SK model which puts values as the core of our profession. As a thought-leader for the OECD Education, whenever I speak for the Singapore education system, I have always highlighted only one thing, which is values,” Prof Tan shares.

According to him, the most important value for teachers is the care for the learner to build in him or her dispositions and attitudes that will help them thrive in all circumstances. As such, the cultivation of values stands as a crucial cornerstone in education, equipping students with the ethical compass needed to navigate life’s myriad challenges.

“It is always a joy to see how schools come up with great ideas to inspire and encourage their students in character and citizenship, from caring for the most disadvantaged in their immediate communities to experiential learning and service learning,” Prof Tan adds.

Through the cultivation of values like integrity, empathy, responsibility, resilience and accountability, educators can empower students to navigate the complexities of the world with wisdom and grace. In doing so, they foster a generation of citizens poised to contribute positively to society and lead lives of significance and meaning.

Future of CCE in Singapore

CCE is the bedrock upon which Singapore’s education system stands. It empowers students to navigate the complexities of the world with integrity and empathy.

“With the changing landscape of social media and demographics, it is timely to re-think and reset education. In Singapore, where her people has thrived on pragmatism and balancing the best of East and West, education has entered a new phase of Values-driven and Student-centric development,” explains Prof Tan. “The primary aim of education is to flourish the individual through building character virtues that recognize self-awareness of disposition, interests and aptitudes as well as nurturing of virtues of care, respect, harmony and plurality.”

Through research in CCE, Prof Tan also hopes to capture even more strongly the cases of effective CCE, and address areas of pedagogy and approaches for character, well-being and citizenship development across all levels of learning.

As the landscape of education continues to evolve, so too must our approach to character development. Through the collective commitment to CCE, Singapore charts a course toward a future where character and values stand as pillars of strength in an ever-changing world. However, its effective implementation is not without challenges, requiring a concerted effort from educators, researchers, parents and policymakers.

As Prof Tan aptly puts it: “We hope to be a hub that brings the best experts from around the world to Singapore. We also aspire to contribute our thought leadership to build a better world.”