Effecting change through in-service teacher education in Singapore schools : a case study

Abstract

In order to examine the factors that impinge on an on-going change, this Field Study involved a consideration of the first two Royal Society of Arts Courses In The Teaching of English in Singapore Schools (RSA TESL). These were part-time courses offered to graduate teachers to enable them to further improve their skills in English Language teaching. The study was based on a questionnaire that incorporated the following components: the general background of the teacher, the school climate, the level of attainment in relation to the competencies, identified the level of sharing the methods of dissemination, Of the teachers from courses one and two who were invited to attend a feedback session, forty-eight responded. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses from the participants in relation to the main factors mentioned above. The results of the study were subjected to three main types of analyses viz, comparisons based on raw data co-relations of the different factors using the Pearson’s Product Moment Co-efficient Chi-square and T-score analyses of means of the different factors to ascertain degrees of relationship. Since the course had a task-based emphasis, it was not surprising that the study revealed a high level of attainment of the teachers in relation to the main competencies developed in the course. This in turn was shown to have a significant effect on the confidence of the teachers to share their knowledge and skills with other teachers. Another factor that was significant in terms of the levels of sharing achieved by the teachers was the position held by them. It was found that a greater degree of sharing of skills and knowledge was achieved by the senior subject teachers than those who were not. This was also confirmed when a comparison of courses one and two was made. The degree of sharing achieved by the course one participants was higher because there were more senior subject teachers among them. Furthermore, this difference in sharing in relation to position was marked in both schools that had a good climate or those that had a poor climate. The school climate also significantly affected the relative level of sharing of skills and knowledge achieved by the teachers. Even among the senior subject teachers, the level of sharing was greater 1n schools with a good climate than in those with a poor climate. Finally, in terms of the method of dissemination, it was found that the senior subject teachers used both the formal (demonstrations, workshops) and informal methods of dissemination while the ordinary teachers used mainly the informal (discussions etc) methods of dissemination. The four main findings arising from the study have had a significant impact on the future developments in relation to the RSA TESL course as well as other in-service courses where a transfer of knowledge/skills is expected on completion of the course.

Date of Award	1984
Original language	English