Chinese teacher thinking in Singapore : a socio-cultural perspective

This study sets out to describe Chinese teacher thinking in Singapore and explores it from a socio-cultural perspective, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methods, including a survey, semi-structured interviews and metaphor analysis. The survey involves 162 respondents and 62 in-service Singapore Chinese teachers are interviewed. Metaphors arising spontaneously from the survey, the interviews and classroom discussions of teacher training sessions are identified and analyzed to make teacher thinking explicit. Four areas of Chinese teacher thinking in Singapore, that is, Singapore Chinese teachers' beliefs and perceptions about teaching, learning, students and themselves as Chinese teachers, are described and then examined within its socio- cultural context. This study finds eight major characteristics of Chinese teacher thinking in Singapore, which indicate a strong belief in: (1) the teaching of Chinese culture (2) the priority of moral education (3) the teacher/student hierarchy (4) the teaching of the text (5) the transmission model of teaching (6) the importance of examinations (7) the importance of motivation and effort in learning and (8) negative perception of themselves as Chinese teachers in Singapore. The study further shows that these characteristics of Chinese teacher thinking have deep roots in traditional Chinese educational thought and traditions and are embedded in the socio-linguistic and educational context of Singapore. The findings of this study help to identify the incongruence that exists between Chinese teacher thinking in Singapore and the theoretical assumptions underlying the more learner-centered communicative language teaching approach. This incongruence explains why some of the Chinese teachers in Singapore are reluctant to adopt the innovative teaching approach. This study suggests that a socio-cultural perspective is necessary in understanding teacher thinking, and that education reforms need to take socio-cultural contexts into consideration in order to be meaningful and successful. This study also demonstrates the validity of teacher metaphors in exploring teacher thinking.