Teacher Education

This paper reviews educational research on self-concept, academic achievement, career development and other correlates in Singapore in the past 40 years. The presenter commenced her research work in self-esteem in 1982 and published an article “A Measure of Pupils' Self-esteem in Singapore Secondary Schools” in Singapore Journal of Education in 1985. In 1987, in her PhD research in Michigan State University, U.S.A., Self-Esteem Checklist (SEC) was developed.  In 1995, NIE launched a longitudinal study of secondary school students on the cognitive & psychological development and school adjustment over a period of 4 years. Concurrently, she was a core member of the career guidance research team of JOBS (1988 – 2003) and OSCAR (2003-2009).
In Nov 2002, the presenter led a research team in the National Institute of Education, NTU, for a cross-discipline quasi-experimental study on “Positive Social Climate for Enhancing Students’ Math Self-concept”. Its main objective was to find the attributes (variables) in the social climate which are accountable for the increase of self-concept of Secondary Two students in the Math remedial classes in Singapore neighbourhood schools. 12 years later, 2014, she became a consultant of the a cross-discipline mix-method study which aimed to explore and develop an alternative approach to teach Lower Secondary Normal Technical mathematics using story-telling, comics and other graphic stimulus in context. Led by Toh Tin Lam, this project consisted both research and development components, aimed to find the effect attitudinal change of these students in learning mathematics through the use of the package designed in this project: a positive change from “I can’t” to “l can”, and “I dislike” to “I like”. Thus, the name of this project is called “MAGICAL” (MAthematics is Great: I Can And Like). 

The theory-practice debate has been a perennial issue in the field of teacher education. (Kessels & Korthagen, 1996; Korthagen, 2010; Shulman, 1988). Linking theory and practice is regarded as important in ITE (Canrinus, Bergem, Klette, & Hammerness, 2017; Korthagen, 2010). Research provides important insights into the variations among student teachers in engagement with the theory-practice link and coping with challenges in ITE fieldwork. It would be useful to know how such variations might be related to the outcome of ITE in terms of multi-faceted professional competence.
This study addresses two research questions:
(1) What is the relationship between student teachers’ engagement with the theory-practice link in ITE and their professional competence?
(2) How do student teachers link the theoretical knowledge learned in their ITE coursework and the practical experience in their ITE fieldwork in developing their professional competence?
The study was conducted in the context of an ITE programme characterized by a university-based “theory-first” approach in a university in Hong Kong. The mixed-methods research design was adopted in the study. 346 student teachers of a BEd Programme participated in the quantitative survey, 15 of whom were interviewed.
The quantitative findings showed significant positive correlations between three types of professional competence and two aspects of student teachers’ engagement with the theory-practice link. The qualitative findings offer an in-depth understanding of the ways in which student teachers connected theoretical knowledge learned in their ITE coursework and practical experience in their ITE fieldwork in developing their professional competence. First, theoretical knowledge acts as a guide for student teachers’ professional decisions and a tool for their reflection on practice. Second, practicalizing theoretical knowledge is another way in which student teachers engage with the theory-practice link. Different ways in which student teachers practicalized theoretical knowledge were evidenced, ranging from catering to learners’ needs, being agentic in addressing the challenges of the context, to being versatile and integrating different aspects of learning. While affirming the value of student teachers’ engagement with the theory-practice link, the findings of the study shed light on ITE practices for preparing student teachers for such engagement.