Abstract
This chapter examines the Project Work initiative in Singapore and the challenges to its success. The most pertinent challenge is the deeply ingrained mindsets of the various stakeholders, including students, teachers, school leaders and parents, regarding the goals of education. These mindsets pose a challenge not only to the Project Work initiative but also to the wider education reform in Singapore under the umbrella vision of ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adderley, K., Askurin, C., Bradbury, P., Freeman, J., Goodlad, S., Greene, J., Jenkins, D., Rae, J. & Uren, O. (1975). Project Methods in Higher Education. London: Society for Research into Higher Education
Adderly, K. C., Ashwin, P.Bradbury, Freeman, J., Goodlad, S., Greene, J. et al. (1975). Project Methods in Higher Education. Report for the U.K. Society for Research into Higher Education. Guildford, Surrey: Society for Research into Higher Education.
Bandura, A. (1989). Perceived self-efficacy in the exercise of personal agency. The Psychologist: Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 10, 411–424.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W. H. Freeman & Company.
Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M. & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3&4), 369–398.
Brush, T. & Saye, J. (2000). Implementation and evaluation of a student-centered learning unit: A case study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 79–100.
Carnoy, M. (1999). Globalisation and Education Reform. What Planners Need to Know. Paris: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning.
Chang, S. C. A. (2004). Project Work as an assessment tool. In B. T. Ho, J.-A. Netto-Shek & S. C. A. Chang (Eds.), Project Work Management in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Chang, T. T. & Chang, S. C. A. (2003). Assessing the Project Work: A Teachers' and Students' Perspective. Paper presented at the Asian-Pacific Conference on Education.
Chen, P. & McGrath, D. (2004). Visualize, visualize, visualize: Designing projects for higher-order thinking. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32(4), 54–57.
Chua, J. J. (2004). Evaluating the Effects of Project Work on Learning in a Primary School. Unpublished MEd Thesis, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Costa, A. L. (2004). Foreword. In B. T. Ho, J.-A. Netto-Shek & S. C. A. Chang (Eds.), Managing Project Work in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Curtis, D. (2002). The power of projects. Educational Leadership, 60(1), 50–53.
Davie, S. (2004). School awards: Pragmatism wins over idealism. The Straits Times, 2 October.
Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder.
Fullan, M. G. (2005). Leadership and Sustainability. Systems Thinkers in Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Goh, C. T. (1997). Shaping our future: Thinking Schools, Learning Nation. Speech by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the opening of the 7th International Conference on Thinking at the Suntec City Convention Centre, 2 June 1997.
Grant, M. M. & Branch, R. M. (2005). Project-based learning in a middle school: Tracing abilities through the artifacts of learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(1), 65–98.
Helle, L., Tynjala, P. & Olkinuora, E. (2006). Project-based learning in post-secondary education — Theory, practice and rubber sling shots. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, 51(2), 287–314.
Hewson, P. W., Tabachnick, B. R., Zeichner, K. M. & Lemberger, J. (1999). Educating Prospective Teachers of Biology: Findings, Limitations, and Recommendations (Vol. 83, pp. 373–384).
Hill, J. R. & Hannafin, M. J. (2001). Teaching and Learning in Digital Environments: The Resurgence of Resource-based Learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(3), 37–52.
Ho, B. T. (2004). Coaching and facilitating Project Work. In B. T. Ho, J.-A. Netto-Shek & S. C. A. Chang (Eds.), Managing Project Work in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Ho, B. T. & Netto-Shek, J.-A. (2004). Project Work as learning experiences: Perceptions of pre-service teachers. In B. T. Ho, J.-A. Netto-Shek & S. C. A. Chang (Eds.), Managing Project Work in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Ho, B. T., Netto-Shek, J.-A. & Chang, S. C. A. (Eds.) (2004). Managing Project Work in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
International Society for Technology in Education (1997). The road ahead: Project-based learning. From http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Research/Reports/The_Road_Ahead_ Background_Papers_1997_/Project-Based_Learning.htm
Katz, L. G. (1994). The Project Approach. ERIC Digest, Report: EDO PS.
Lim, P. Y. (2004). Project Work in the Gifted Education Programme. In B. T. Ho, J.-A. Netto-Shek & S. C. A. Chang (Eds.), Managing Project Work in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Liu, K. C. Y. & Chien, C.-Y. (1998). Project approach and parent involvement in Taiwan. Childhood Education, 74(4), 213–219.
McGrath, D. (2003). Rubrics, portfolios, and tests, oh my! Assessing understanding in project-based learning. Learning & Leading with Technology, 30(8), 42–45.
McGrath, D. & Sands, N. (2004). Finding the time. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32(1), 52–55.
Meyer, H., Tabachnick, B. R., Hewson, P. W., Lemberger, J. & Park, H.-J. (1999). Relationships between prospective elementary teachers' classroom practice and their conceptions of biology and of teaching science. Science Education, 83(3), 323–346.
Ministry of Education (1998). Committee on Singapore Competitiveness. Singapore.
Ministry of Education (1999). Project work guidelines. Singapore: Curriculum Planning and Development Division.
Ministry of Education (2001). Project Work to be included for university admission in 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2006
Ministry of Education (2005). Aims and objectives of project work. Ministry of Education of Singapore website, from www.moe.gov.sg/projectwork
Morgan, A. (1983). Theoretical aspects of project-based learning in higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 14(1), 66–78.
National Research Council (1995). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.
Ng, P. T. (2003). The Singapore learning society. In P. Kumar (Ed.), Organizational Learning for All Seasons (pp. 7–22). Singapore: National Community Leadership Institute.
Ng, P. T. (2005a). Introduction. In J. Tan & P. T. Ng (Eds.), Shaping Singapore's Future: Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (pp. 1–4). Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Ng, P. T. (2005c). Students' perception of change in the Singapore education system. Educational Research for Policy & Practice, 3(1), 77–92.
Ng, P. T. (2007). Quality assurance in the Singapore education system in an era of diversity and innovation. Educational Research for Policy & Practice, 6(3), 235–247.
Nicholls, J. G. (1984). Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance. Psychological Review, 91(3), 328–346.
Project Based Learning (2004). Technology & Learning, 24(7).
Schweke, W. (2004). Smart Money: Education and Economic Development. Washington DC: Economic Policy Institute.
Shanmugaratnam, T. (2003). The next phase in education: Innovation and enterprise. Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Acting Minister for Education, at the Ministry of Education Work Plan Seminar, 2 October 2003, at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore.
Steiner-Khamsi, G. (Ed.) (2004). The Global Politics of Educational Borrowing and Lending. New York: Teachers College Press.
Tan, O. S. & Ee, L. C. J. (2004). Project Work through problem-based learning approach. In B. T. Ho, J.-A. Netto-Shek & S. C. A. Chang (Eds.), Managing Project Work in Schools: Issues and Innovative Practices. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Tan, T. L. S. (2002). Using Project Work as a Motivating Factor in Lower Secondary Mathematics. Unpublished MEd Thesis, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Tatto, M. T. (1998). The influence of teacher education on teachers' beliefs about purposes of education, roles, and practice. 49(1), 66–77.
Teo, C. H. (1999). Towards ability-driven education: Making every Singaporean matter. In Singapore Government Press Release. Speech by RADM Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence at the Ministry of Education Work Plan Seminar 1999 at Temasek Polytechnic (4 September 1999, Singapore).
Wolk, S. (1994). Project-based learning: Pursuits with a purpose. Educational Leadership, 52(3), 42–45.
Wong, A. F. L., Quek, C.-L., Divaharan, S., Liu, W.-C., Peer, J. & Williams, M. D. (2006). Singapore students' and teachers' perceptions of computer-supported Project Work classroom learning environments. Journal of Research in Technology in Education, 38(4), 449–479.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yeong, A.Y.E., Ng, P.T. (2009). An Examination of Project Work: A Reflection on Singapore's Education Reform. In: Ng, Ch., Renshaw, P.D. (eds) Reforming Learning. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3024-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3024-6_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3002-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3024-6
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)