Search

The number of low-income families in Singapore is increasing. Young children from impoverished backgrounds are at risk of development gaps and challenges. Research has shown that the accumulation of risk factors from adverse childhood experiences can lead to weaker outcomes later in life. The NTUC First Campus (NFC) launched the Child Support Model (CSM) to serve children and families from vulnerable, low-income backgrounds with a range of financial, social and learning support. A 3-year evaluation study using mixed-methods design was conducted to understand the effects of the CSM and the active ingredients in CSM. A cohort of 58 children from families making a monthly income of SGD$3,500 or less participated in the quantitative component where children's language and cognitive outcomes and classroom engagement were measured at three time points in 2019 (Kindergarten 1) and 2020 (Kindergarten 2). Participating children's parents and teachers were interviewed in the qualitative component and reported their perspectives and experiences in CSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of educational neuroscience in teacher training and continuing professional development has been debated extensively, yet knowledge translation is largely absent in this field. Without objective methods for translating and disseminating educational neuroscience evidence, the impact of training on educators and the children they serve will remain limited. This position paper addresses this critical teacher education need by providing a rationale for why brain literacy training is vital as teachers learn to meet the needs of diverse learners. The authors offer three important factors for consideration regarding the utility of educational neuroscience for educators and allied school practitioners. First, the foundations and history of professional educator development in educational neuroscience will be considered. Second, a brief review of the empirical learning science literature within the context of science-based education will be considered. Third, a rationale for including a more intensive brain literacy training for educators is provided by comparing the impact traditional teaching practices and brain literate strategies have on curriculum and instruction, and how standard practices may actually undermine student brain development. Finally, three recommendations for developing educator brain literacy are offered to guide future policy, research, and practice decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Award-winning Green Preschools in Bali, Berkeley, and Hong Kong were selected as case studies to explore quality of preschool environment from the perspectives of architects and early childhood educators. Data were collected on sites over a 10-month period. The unit of analysis was a classroom for 4- to 5-year-olds in each location. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and Children’s Physical Environment Rating Scale (CPERS) were used as observational measures. A total of 14 stakeholders consisting of architects, principals, and teachers were interviewed to supplement the result of the scales. Striking similarities of the ECERS-R and CPERS data revealed preschool in Berkeley ranked the highest, followed by preschool in Bali, and preschool in Hong Kong. Interview data revealed that architects’ knowledge on preschool design; understanding of children’s behaviors; a close-knit collaboration with the educators; and a comprehensive design guidelines from the local government significantly influenced the design quality of the preschools, regardless of the cultural differences. The interdisciplinary nature of this study produced an insightful dialogue between the fields of education and architecture resulting in useful suggestions for architectural practice, while the unique analysis from the empirical data contributed significantly to the existing literature of preschool design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The student profile, model of service delivery, and support practices for young children with disabilities receiving early childhood intervention (ECI) in Singapore is reported and contrasted in this study. The supervisors/managers/principals of eight Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) centres, eight Integrated Child Care Programmes (ICCP), six privately run ECI centres, and 65 preschools participated in this study. Overall, autism spectrum disorder was the most commonly reported diagnosis in this study. EIPIC and privately run ECI centres supported mostly children with disabilities (frequently those with more severe disabilities) and provided more specialized education and therapy support, whereas ICCPs and preschools educated them alongside typically developing peers. EIPIC centres provided the most resource and teacher support for young children with disabilities. Issues pertaining to the reported rates of disabilities among the young children and support models/practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we sought to examine the perceptions of teachers and other school professionals towards the inclusion of secondary school students with special educational needs (SEN), and the associated factors. The Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised scale (SACIE-R) was completed by 131 teachers and school professionals from two mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. The findings revealed an overall neutral attitude towards inclusion. Together, confidence in teaching students with SEN, the level of training SEN support, as well as experience teaching students with SEN account for a large proportion of the variance in ratings of inclusive perceptions. Further analyses revealed that confidence in teaching or supporting students with SEN was found to be a significant predictor of inclusive perceptions. The findings suggest that schools seeking to engage in inclusive practices should focus on ways to develop the confidence of personnel to support students with SEN. Professional development and mentorship were suggested as possible avenues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Kamps, D., Thiemann-Bourque, K., Heitzman-Powell, L., Schwarts, I., Rosenberg, N., Mason, R., & Cox, S. (2015). A comprehensive peer network intervention to improve social communication of children with autism spectrum disorders: A randomized controlled trial in kindergarten and first grade.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(6), 1809–1824. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2340-2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little work has focused on inclusive education in Singapore. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children with disabilities are attending mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. Data was drawn from interviews with 13 parents of children with mild disabilities. Our findings reveal that parental perspective on inclusive education in Singapore is not only about classroom support but also reflects a deeper concern about whether their children with disabilities will emerge from school as contributing individuals in society. While parents strive to effectively include their children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, there were dichotomies in their (1) understanding of disabilities, (2) expectations of school support, and (3) expectations for their child with disabilities. Given that academic and social prowess is a critical prerequisite to have a shot at entering the meritocratic Singapore society, the tension parents experience is to gauge a reasonable amount of pressure to exert on their children, the school and themselves as they assert their children's educational entitlements within an imperfect but evolving state of inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to understand the perspectives of four youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFA) regarding their experiences in Singapore secondary schools. Qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews revealed that youth with HFA actively construct their experience of being a person with HFA. The extent to which the youth were engaged or disengaged in school appears to be related to the support provided by the environment. Implications of the findings for practice are discussed. The role of the phenomenological approach to providing insights into the lives of persons with HFA is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the reading skills of monolingual children has established a convergent skills model for acquisition involving context-free decoding, language comprehension, and visual and phonological processing. This study sought to identify the predictors of Primary One bilingual children's reading accuracy and reading comprehension in English. Eighty English−Mandarin-speaking girls (aged 6.5 years) attending Singapore schools were administered a battery of tests measuring phonological awareness (phoneme deletion), receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, short-term memory (digit span), reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that phonological awareness significantly predicts reading accuracy and reading comprehension skills. Reading accuracy significantly predicts reading comprehension. Receptive grammar significantly predicts reading comprehension, but not reading accuracy. Unlike studies conducted with monolingual children, memory and vocabulary were not predictive of reading accuracy and comprehension. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]