Abstract
As transfers of educational ideas across countries accelerate in the twenty-first century with globalization, studies on educational change have lagged in foregrounding the importance of cross-national contexts when ideas traverse borders. This qualitative study investigates 30 Singapore teachers’ perceptions of challenges involved in implementing differentiated instruction from the U.S., to sketch the contours around the intersection of educational transfer and change. Through analyzing classroom discussions and assignments of teachers enrolled in a Masters-level differentiated instruction course, we found that teachers’ perceptions of implementation challenges clustered around technological, sociocultural, and political concerns. Challenges associated with differing technological conditions (e.g., class size/space and teacher capacity) and sociocultural norms (e.g., emphasis on control, results, and teacher-centered teaching) bring to fore how perceptions of origin and destination contexts shape reception of educational ideas, like differentiated instruction. Postmodern ambiguities around norms, objectivity, and evidence in a globally porous world further complicate teachers’ concerns. In concluding, we propose a comparative educational change framework through which educational change and transfer can be viewed and argue for the need to scrutinize the influence of cross-national contexts when studying educational change across borders.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahn, R., Catbagan, P., Tamayo, K., Ire, J. Y., Lopez, M., & Walker, P. (2015). Successful minority pedagogy in mathematics: US and Japanese case studies. Teachers and Teaching, 21(1), 87–102.
Alexander, R. J. (2001). Culture and pedagogy: International comparisons in primary education. Hoboken: Blackwell Publishing.
Anderson-Levitt, K. M. (2003). A world culture of schooling? Local meanings, global schooling (pp. 1–26). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Beech, J. (2006). The theme of educational transfer in comparative education: A view over time. Research in Comparative and International Education, 1(1), 2–13.
Borkan, J. (1999). Immersion/Crystallization. In B. F. Crabtree & W. L. Miller (Eds.), Doing qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 179–194). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc.
Brighton, C. M., Hertberg, H. L., Moon, T. R., Tomlinson, C. A., & Callahan, C. M. (2005). The feasibility of high-end learning in a diverse middle school. Storrs, Connecticut: National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.
Carter, L. (2010). Neoliberal globalization and learner-centered pedagogies: Posing some different questions. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 10(3), 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2010.504481.
Chien, C. W. (2012). Differentiated instruction in an elementary school EFL classroom. TESOL Journal, 3(2), 280–291.
Datnow, A. (2002). Can we transplant educational reform, and does it last? Journal of Educational Change, 3(3), 215–239. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021221627854.
Department of Statistics Singapore. (2016). Population Trends 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2016, from https://www.singstat.gov.sg.
Department of Statistics Singapore. (2018). Population and Population Structure. Retrieved November 18, 2019, from https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data.
Fink, D., & Stoll, L. (2005). Educational change: Easier said than done. In A. Hargreaves (Ed.), Extending educational change (pp. 17–41). New York: Springer.
Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Garcia-Huidobro, J. C., Nannemann, A., Bacon, C. K., & Thompson, K. (2017). Evolution in educational change: A literature review of the historical core of the Journal of Educational Change. Journal of Educational Change, 18(3), 263–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-017-9298-8.
Goodwin, A. L., Low, E. L., & Ng, P. T. (2015). Developing teacher leadership in Singapore: Multiple pathways for differentiated journeys. The New Educator, 11(2), 107–120.
Gopinathan, S., & Deng, Z. (2016). PISA and high-performing education systems: Explaining Singapore’s education success AU - Deng. Zongyi. Comparative Education, 52(4), 449–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2016.1219535.
Hargreaves, A., Earl, L., Moore, S., & Manning, S. (2002). Learning to change: Teaching beyond subjects and standard. New York: Wiley.
Hatch, A. J. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Hogan, D., & Gopinathan, S. (2008). Knowledge management, sustainable innovation, and pre-service teacher education in Singapore. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 14(4), 369–384.
Hogan, D., Kwek, D., Towndrow, P., Rahim, R. A., Tan, T. K., Yang, H. J., et al. (2013). Visible learning and the enacted curriculum in Singapore. In Z. Deng, S. Gopinathan, & C. K. E. Lee (Eds.), Globalization and the Singapore curriculum (pp. 121–149). Singapore: Springer.
House, E. R., & McQuillan, P. J. (1998). Three perspectives on school reform. In A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, & D. W. Hopkins (Eds.), International handbook of educational change (pp. 198–213). Berlin: Springer.
Kim, H. S. (2002). We talk, therefore we think? A cultural analysis of the effect of talking on thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(4), 828.
Liang, R. Y. H., & Dixon, M. (2011). Singapore teachers’ espoused beliefs: Links to practice. Research Brief; 10-004.
Lim-Ratnam, C. T., Lee, C. K., Jiang, H., & Sudarshan, A. (2019). Lost in adaptation? Issues of adapting Japanese lesson study in non-Japanese contexts. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 18, 263–278.
Liu, H., & Dervin, F. (2017). “Education is a life marathon rather than a hundred-meter race”: Chinese “folk” comparative discourses on Finnish education. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 47(4), 529–544.
Low, E.-L., & Tan, O.-S. (2017). Teacher education policy: Recruitment, preparation and progression. In O.-S. Tan, W.-C. Liu, & E.-L. Low (Eds.), Teacher education in the 21st Century (pp. 11–32). Singapore: Springer.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2014). Designing qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
Mehan, H., Hubbard, L., & Stein, M. K. (2005). When reforms travel: The sequel. Journal of Educational Change, 6(4), 329–362.
Mills, M., Monk, S., Keddie, A., Renshaw, P., Christie, P., Geelan, D., et al. (2014). Differentiated learning: From policy to classroom. Oxford Review of Education, 40(3), 331–348.
MOE. (2005a). 25 Primary Schools to Pilot New Chinese Language Curriculum in 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2016, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2005/pr20050712.htm.
MOE. (2005b). Malay and Tamil languages: Engaging students through lively classrooms and responsive curricula—Government accepts recommendations of the Malay Language and the Tamil Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committees. Retrieved May 3, 2016, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2005/pr20051117.htm.
MOE. (2005c). Ministry of Education Addendum to the President’s Address—Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education. Retrieved May 3, 2016, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2005/pr20050115.htm.
MOE. (2009). Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the MOE Work Plan Seminar 2009, on Thursday, 17 September 2009 at 9.30 am at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Convention Centre. Retrieved May 3, 2016, from http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/20090924002/moe_wps_2009.pdf.
MOE. (2013). FY2013 Committee of Supply Debate: 1st Reply by Mr Heng Swee Kiat, Minister for Education: Hope—Opportunities for All. Retrieved May 3, 2016, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/speeches/fy-2013-committee-of-supply-debate–1st-reply-by-mr-heng-swee-keat–minister-for-education–hope—opportunities-for-all#sthash.qjPrZdUm.dpuf.
MOE. (2018). Ministry of Education, Singapore. Retrieved August 4, 2018, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/home.
MOE. (2019). MOE FY2019 Committee of Supply Debate Response by Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung. Retreived July 5, 2019, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/speeches/moe-fy2019-committee-of-supply-debate-response-by-minister-for-education-ong-ye-kung.
Mokhtar. (2018, July 11). MOE ‘cautious’ on issue of smaller class sizes: Ong Ye Kung. Today online. Retrieved July 5, 2019, from https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/moe-cautious-issue-smaller-class-sizes-ong-ye-kung.
Naroth, C., & Luneta, K. (2015). Implementing the Singapore mathematics curriculum in South Africa: Experiences of foundation phase teachers. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), 267–277.
Ng, P. T. (2015). What is quality education? How can it be achieved? The perspectives of school middle leaders in Singapore. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 27(4), 307–322.
OECD. (2016). OECD.Stat. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://stats.oecd.org/.
OECD. (2019). Education GPS [TALIS 2018—Teaching and Learning International Survey indicators]. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from http://gpseducation.oecd.org/.
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of educational research, 62(3), 307–332.
Rappleye, J., & Komatsu, H. (2017). How to make Lesson Study work in America and worldwide: A Japanese perspective on the onto-cultural basis of (teacher) education. Research in Comparative and International Education, 12(4), 398–430.
Ritzema, E. S., Deunk, M. I., & Bosker, R. J. (2016). Differentiation practices in grade 2 and 3: Variations in teacher behavior in mathematics and reading comprehension lessons. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 51(2), 50–72.
Schwandt, T. A. (1998). Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (pp. 221–259). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Shayshon, B., Gal, H., Tesler, B., & Ko, E.-S. (2014). Teaching mathematically talented students: A cross-cultural study about their teachers’ views. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 87(3), 409–438.
Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22(2), 63–75.
Solomon, J. (1985). Classroom discussion: A method of research for teachers? British Educational Research Journal, 11(2), 153–162.
Sriprakash, A. (2009). ‘Joyful Learning’in rural Indian primary schools: an analysis of social control in the context of child-centred discourses. Compare, 39(5), 629–641.
Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2012). Understanding policy borrowing and lending. Building comparative policy studies. In G. Steiner-Khamsi & F. Waldow (Eds.), Policy borrowing and lending. World Yearbook of Education 2012 (pp. 3–17). London: Taylor & Francis.
Strogilos, V., Tragoulia, E., Avramidis, E., Voulagka, A., & Papanikolaou, V. (2017). Understanding the development of differentiated instruction for students with and without disabilities in co-taught classrooms. Disability & Society, 32(8), 1216–1238.
Tan, C., & Ng, P. T. (2007). Dynamics of change: Decentralised centralism of education in Singapore. Journal of Educational Change, 8(2), 155–168.
Tan, E. K. B. (2017). Achieving a fair, equal society is a collective responsibility. Today. Retrieved August 4, 2018, from https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/achieving-fair-equal-society-collective-responsibility.
Tan, K. H., Tan, C., & Chua, J. S. (2008). Innovation in education: The “Teach Less, Learn More” initiative in Singapore schools. In J. E. Larkley & V. B. Maynhard (Eds), Innovation in education (pp. 153–171). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tomlinson, C. A., & Moon, T. R. (2013). Assessment and student success in a differentiated classroom. Alexandria: ASCD.
Van de Grift, W. (2007). Quality of teaching in four European countries: A review of the literature and application of an assessment instrument. Educational research, 49(2), 127–152.
van Zanten, M., & van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M. (2018). Opportunity to learn problem solving in Dutch primary school mathematics textbooks. ZDM Mathematics Education, 50(5), 827–838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-0973-x.
VanTassel-Baska, J., Feng, A. X., Brown, E., Bracken, B., Stambaugh, R., French, H., et al. (2008). A study of differentiated instructional change over 3 years. Gifted Child Quarterly, 52(4), 297–312.
VanTassel-Baska, J., MacFarlane, B., & Feng, A. X. (2006). A cross-cultural study of exemplary teaching: What do Singapore and the United States secondary gifted class teachers say? Gifted and Talented International, 21(2), 38–47.
Vavrus, F., & Bartlett, L. (2012). Comparative pedagogies and epistemological diversity: Social and materials contexts of teaching in Tanzania. Comparative Education Review, 56(4), 634–658.
Wertheim, C., & Leyser, Y. (2002). Efficacy beliefs, background variables, and differentiated instruction of Israeli prospective teachers. The Journal of Educational Research, 96(1), 54–63.
Wu, C. K.-Y., Wan, S. W.-Y., & Wong, Y. Y. (2015). Exploring Hong Kong secondary school teachers’ teaching beliefs on differentiated instruction. In D. Garbett & A. Ovens (Eds.), Teaching for Tomorrow Today, (pp. 158–167). New Zealand: Edify Ltd.
Acknowledgements
Funding was provided by ERFP (Grant No. SUG 15/15HTT). Our gratitude goes out to reviewers who provided critical comments that helped to strengthen this article—thank you.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heng, T.T., Song, L. A proposed framework for understanding educational change and transfer: Insights from Singapore teachers’ perceptions of differentiated instruction. J Educ Change 21, 595–622 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09377-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09377-0