Abstract
It is not an uncommon goal amongst policymakers to have a successful programme in one school be scaled up to more or even all schools in the system. However, the poetry of aspiration must be translated into the prose of implementation. Recent studies, such as those described in this book, have indicated that the scaling up of educational innovations across multiple settings requires a confluence of sociocultural factors. In this chapter, we describe a successful educational innovation in Singapore, the Strategies for English Language Learning and Reading (STELLAR) programme, and discuss the implementation approach and the critical success factors, which have contributed to its effective scaling up, at a system level.
The authors would like to acknowledge the editorial support from Terence FOO.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness (A joint publication in The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series and the Jossey-Bass management series). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bryk, T. (2007). Ruminations on re-inventing an R and D capacity for educational improvement. Paper prepared for the American Enterprise Institute Conference on the “Supply Side of School Reform.”, Washington, DC.
Coburn, E. C. (2003). Rethinking scale: Moving beyond numbers to deep and lasting change. Retrieved from http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/faculty/CECoburn/coburnscale.pdf
Cowan, R., David, P. A., & Foray, D. (2000, June). The explicit economics of knowledge codification and tacitness. Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, 9(2), 211–253.
Dede, C. (2006). Scaling up: Evolving innovations beyond ideal settings to challenging contexts of practice. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of learning sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dede, C. (2007, Spring). Exploring the process of scaling up. Threshold: Exploring the Future of Education, 5, 16–17.
Dede, C., & Honan, J. P. (2005). Scaling up success: A synthesis of themes and insights. In C. Dede, J. P. Honan, & C. P. Laurence (Eds.), Scaling up success: Lessons learned from technology-based educational improvement (pp. 227–239). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Department of Statistics, Singapore (DOS). (2014). Yearbook of statistics, Singapore, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/publications_and_papers/reference/yearbook_2014/yos2014.pdf
Fishman, B. J. (2003). Collaborating towards scale: A framework for examining innovations and their contexts of use. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic443490.files/Fishman7-16-03.pdf
Fishman, B. J. (2005). Adapting innovations to particular contexts of use. In C. Dede, J. P. Honan, & C. P. Laurence (Eds.), Scaling up success: Lessons learned from technology-based educational improvement (pp. 48–65). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Fullan, M. (2011). The six secrets of change: What the best leaders do to help their organizations survive and thrive. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Glennan, T. K., Bodilly, S. J., Galegher, J., & Kerr, K. A. (Eds.). (2004). Expanding the reach of education reforms: Perspectives from leaders in the scale-up of educational interventions. Santa Monica: RAND.
Goh, K. S., & The Education Study Team. (1979). Report on the ministry of education 1978. Singapore: Ministry of Culture.
Hargreaves, A. P., & Shirley, D. L. (2012). The global fourth way: The quest for educational excellence. Boston: Corwin.
Hung, D., Lee, S. S., Teh, L. W., Vishnumahanti, S., Widiastuti, A., & Kwan, Y. M. (2014). An ecological perspective on scaling: Balancing structural and individual adaptivities. In D. Hung, K. Y. T. Lim, & S. S. Lee (Eds.), Adaptivity as a transformative disposition for learning in the 21st century. Dordrecht: Springer.
Hung, D., Lee, S. S., & Wu, L. K. (2015). Towards an educational view of scaling: Sufficing standard and not a gold standard. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 14(1), 77–91.
Leusner, D. M., Ellsworth, J., & Goe, L. (2008). Scaling up across diverse contexts: Lessons learned from five implementations of the keeping learning on track program. In E. C. Wylie (Ed.), Tight but loose: Scaling up teacher professional development in diverse contexts (pp. 105–124). Princeton: ETS.
Lim, F. V., O’Halloran, K. L., & Podlasov, A. (2012). Spatial pedagogy: Mapping meanings in the use of classroom space. Cambridge Journal of Education, 42(2), 235–251.
Ministry of Educations, Singapore (MOE). (2013). Education statistics digest 2013. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-statistics-digest/files/esd-2013.pdf
Ng, S. M. (2001). Chapter 4: The Brunei Reading and Language Acquisition Project. International Journal of Educational Research, 35(1), 169–179.
Ng, S. M., & Sullivan, C. (2001). Chapter 3: The Singapore Reading and English Acquisition program. International Journal of Educational Research, 35(1), 157–167.
O’Halloran, K. L., Podlasov, A., Chua, A., Tisse, C.-L., Lim, F. V., & Smith, B. A. (2013). Challenges and solutions to multimodal analysis: Technology, theory and practice. In Y. Fang & J. Webster (Eds.), Developing systemic functional linguistics: Theory and application. London: Equinox.
OECD. (2014). PISA 2012 Results: What students know and can do- Student performance in mathematics, reading and science (Volume 1, Revised edition, February 2014). PISA, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264208780-en
Peurach, D. J., & Glazer, J. L. (2011). Reconsidering replication: New perspectives on large-scale school improvement. Educational Change, 13(2), 155–190.
Rogers, E. M. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.
Rogers, P. J., & Weiss, C. H. (2007, Summer). Theory-based evaluation: Reflections ten years on: Theory-based evaluation: Past, present, and future. New Directions for Evaluation, 2007(114), 63–81.
Sabelli, N. H. (2008). Applying what we know to improve teaching and learning. Retrieved from http://dev.opeq.blenderbox.com/uploads/files/c6c854c9-7190-416e-9b2c-4ffb1c480814.pdf
Savery, J. R., & Duffy, T. M. (1995). Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. In B. Wilson (Ed.), Constructivist learning environments: Case studies in instructional design (pp. 135–150). Englewood Cliffs: Educational Technology.
Stringfield, S., & Datnow, A. (1998). Scaling up school restructuring designs in urban schools. Education and Urban Society, 30(3), 269–276.
Sutton, R. I., & Rao, H. (2014). Scaling up excellence: Getting to more without settling for less. New York: Crown Business.
Teh, L. W., Hogan, D., & Dimmock, C. (2013). Knowledge mobilisation and utilisation in the Singapore Education System: The nexus between researchers, policy makers and practitioners. In B. Levin, J. Qi, H. Edelstein, & J. Sohn (Eds.), The impact of research in education: An international perspective (pp. 41–63). Bristol: The Policy Press.
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Wenger, E., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pang, E.S., Lim, F.V., Choe, K.C., Peters, C., Chua, L.C. (2015). System Scaling in Singapore: The STELLAR Story. In: Looi, CK., Teh, L. (eds) Scaling Educational Innovations. Education Innovation Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-537-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-537-2_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-536-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-537-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)