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Virtual Staff Lounge
Nurturing and Inspiring a Sense of Purpose and Meaning in Our Youth
08 Oct 2022
This article is based on the OER-AST Research Webinar jointly organized by the Academy of Singapore Teachers and the Office of Education Research. Themed “Nurturing and Inspiring a Sense of Purpose and Meaning in our Youth” , the webinar sought to provide research-based insights on the topic of Character and Citizenship Education.
Contributed by Mary Anne Heng, Associate Professor (Policy, Curriculum and Leadership Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Singapore) for SingTeach Virtual Staff Lounge
International education achievement indicators may potentially obscure students’ localized experiences of school. This has led to questions about youth purpose, life meaning, as well as school and life satisfaction in debates about what good education should look like in schools. This article reports the findings of the first in-depth studies in Singapore to: a) examine adolescent purpose, and b) understand what drives students’ learning experiences in high-performance schooling in Singapore (Heng et al., 2017, 2020; Heng & Pereira, 2020).
What our youths tell us about their school and lived experiences, their sense of larger purpose and meaning (or lack thereof) can become much more than a guidepost or inspiration; these indicators tell us more about the well–being of our students and become an organizing principle for curriculum decisions and educational policy in the larger goals of school reform in relation to the wider community.
Defining Purpose
Purpose is a long-term intention to engage with the world in ways meaningful to oneself and others (Damon, 2008). As a meta-virtue for human flourishing, purpose is a central life aim guided by a moral internal compass for beyond-the-self goals. Meaning in life is the significance one makes of one’s life (Steger et al., 2006). Put simply, the meaning in life is to find one’s gift. The purpose of life is to use this gift for both self and others. Purpose is different from happiness, which is largely about the present moment; purpose and meaning in life, on the other hand, involve integrating the past, present and future.
Research Objectives
Two research questions frame our studies: What are the comparative levels of youth purpose in Singapore and Israel? What is the relationship between youth purpose, life meaning, social support, school and life satisfaction among Singapore and Israeli adolescents? As small countries with high regard for education and common traits of self-reliance and determination to thrive, Israel’s experience provides a powerful counterpoint to Singapore’s education success.
Four instruments were administered to 577 Singapore and 190 Israeli adolescents in public schools. Clinical interviews were conducted with 28 individual Singapore students (with high or low scores on at least one survey). Follow-up individual interviews were done with 10 students one year later.
School and Life Satisfaction in Singapore and Israeli Adolescents
Our findings showed a worrying no purpose orientation cluster among Singapore students. Notably, Israeli adolescents reported significantly higher school and life satisfaction in each purpose group: Self-focused, Other-focused, and Self- and Other-focused. Additionally, presence of meaning, parents’ support followed by teachers’ support were positive predictors of students’ school and life satisfaction. Parents’ support was the strongest predictor of school and life satisfaction. Even though Singapore adolescents had more teacher support, they were searching for meaning and would like teachers to talk to them about their learning experiences. Israeli students, in comparison, had more life meaning and parental support.
A Purpose-Driven Vision of Schooling: What More Can Schools Do?
- Rethink the fundamental questions of curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment important to both the academic and human purposes of education (Shirley, 2017).
- Plan for a high-quality curriculum and aspire to make schooling purposeful and meaningful to students. How might the school curriculum and experiences be an internal compass for students?
- Transform teaching beyond academic goals, and towards the formation of students with a moral purpose, and where human aspirations for the flourishing of self and others matter. How might teaching stimulate thinking about the significance, relevance and value of students’ learning? How might meaningful connections be made across curricular and co-curricular learning, and to larger issues in life and in the world?
- Acquire a more person-focused understanding of students. Take time to listen to students.
References
Damon, W. (2008). The path to purpose: Helping our children find their calling in life. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Heng, M. A., Blau, I., Fulmer, G. W., Bi, X., & Pereira, A. (2017). Adolescents finding purpose: Comparing purpose and life satisfaction in the context of Singaporean and Israeli moral education. Journal of Moral Education, 46(3), 308-322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2017.1345724
Heng, M. A., Fulmer, G. W., Blau, I., & Pereira, A. (2020). Youth purpose, meaning in life, social support and life satisfaction among adolescents in Singapore and Israel. Journal of Educational Change, 21, 299-322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09381-4
Heng, M. A., & Pereira, A. (2020). Understanding adolescent purpose in the context of high-performance schooling in Singapore. Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(5), 539-558. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2020.1743233
Shirley, D. (2017). The new imperatives of educational change: Achievement with integrity. London: Routledge.
Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93.
