Instructional Practice in Singapore in Review of Education

The most recent issue of Review of Education: An International Journal of Major Studies in Education, includes a study that explores how Singapore has been able to achieve a relatively high level of school success in recent years. In “Assessment and the logic of instructional practice in Secondary 3 English and mathematics classrooms in Singapore,” authors David Hogan, Melvin Chan, Ridzuan Rahim, Dennis Kwek, Khin Maung Aye, Siok Chen Loo, Yee Zher Sheng, and Wenshu Luo, draw on data collected in 2010 to analyze methods of instruction in secondary math and English classrooms that range from the more traditional models, which focus on memorization and tight control over student behavior, to the more student-centered models, which focus on comprehension and collaboration. The authors argue that teachers in Singapore draw from a variety of instructional practices, and that national high stakes testing has both shaped and constrained what teachers can do in the classroom.