Table Of ContentEducation Innovation
Chee-Hoo Lum Editor
Contextualized
Practices in Arts
Education
An International Dialogue on Singapore
Springer Education Innovation Book Series
Series Editors
Wing On LEE
David Wei Loong HUNG
Laik Woon TEH
Executive Editor
Siao See TENG
For furthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/10092
Aims and Scope – Springer Education
Innovation Book Series
Educationholdsthekeytounlockhumanresourcesthatasocietyneedstosurvive
and flourish. This is particularly salient in a borderless knowledge economy. For
the past decades, the sterling performance of economies such as Hong Kong,
Finland,Japan,SingaporeandTaiwanininternationalstudies(e.g.TIMSS,PIRLS
and PISA) has channeled much attention away from the traditional centers of
education research in America and Western Europe. Researchers, policy makers
andpractitionersallovertheworldwishtounderstandhoweducationinnovations
propel the emerging systems from good to great to excellent, and how different
their trajectories were compared to the systems in America and Western Europe.
The Education Innovation Book Series, published by Springer, will delve into
educationinnovationsenactedbytheSingaporeeducationsystemandsituatethem
in both the local and the boarder international contexts. Primary focus will be
given to pedagogy and classroom practices; education policy formulation and
implementation;schoolandinstructionalleadership;andthecontextandinterface
between education research, policy and practice. We believe that the latter is
criticalinmakingeducationinnovationscometobear.Eachvolumewilldocument
insights and lessons learned based on empirical research (both quantitative and
qualitative) and theoretical analyses. Implications to research, policy and
professional practice will be surfaced through comparing and synthesizing
Singapore’s experience with those of successful systems around the world.
The audience of the edited volumes and monographs published in this series
includes researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and students in the fields of
educationandteachereducation,andpublicpoliciesrelatedtolearningandhuman
resources.
Series Editors
Wing On LEE
David Wei Loong HUNG
Laik Woon TEH
Office of Education Research
National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Executive Editor
Siao See TENG
Office of Education Research
National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Chee-Hoo Lum
Editor
Contextualized Practices in
Arts Education
An International Dialogue on Singapore
Editor
Chee-HooLum
VisualandPerformingArtsAcademicGroup
attheNationalInstituteofEducation(NIE)
NanyangTechnologicalUniversity
Singapore
ISSN2211-4874 ISSN2211-4882(electronic)
ISBN978-981-4560-54-2 ISBN978-981-4560-55-9(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-981-4560-55-9
SpringerSingaporeHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013957688
©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingapore2013
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Series Editors’ Foreword
As series editors, we are tremendously proud to announce the fourth book in our
Springer Education Innovation Series on Singapore’s Arts Education. This book
representsaneffortdescribinganddiscussinghowtheeducationsystemprivileges
theArtsinthepresenttwenty-firstcenturycontextofinnovationandglobalisation.
EducationalInnovationisnotalwayscharacterisedbythesciencesorinengineer-
ing,butthespiritoftheArtsinrichculturesandpracticesexhibitingthediversityof
perspectives,andexpressivityisonewhichoffersnewinsightstoimaginationand
creativity.
Itishearteningtonotethattheexemplarycasestudiesdescribedanddiscussedin
this book shows that Singapore—although nascent in the Arts—is moving in
trajectorieswhichareproductiveandforwardlookingwhencomparedinternation-
ally.TheArtsmethodologyofjuxtaposingtheinvolvementsofthecreative-critical
and reflective-reflexive perspectives is note-worthy of learning from other disci-
plines,throughwhichartisticproductsarecreatedfromtheprocess.TheArtsalso
bring to the foreground the individual expressivity and creativity through this
process-methodology which schools in Singapore can harness. Such learnings are
especiallymanifestedwhenschoolsformlocalandinternationalpartnershipswith
practicing artists. These artists work hand-in-hand with students through which
embodied experiences are formed and valuable dispositions in the aesthetics are
formed.
IndeedArtsandinnovationisaproductiveinterplaywhichcancontributetothe
well being of the student. The aesthetics and the humanistic designs which are so
criticaltodayshouldbedevelopedinourstudentsasatwenty-firstcenturyliteracy
regardless of their future pursuits. The Singapore Education System is one of the
few systems inthe worldwhich hassystematically embracedArts into the curric-
ulumforallschools,andthisbookhasprovidedreflectiveinsightsintothisjourney
ofreform.
NationalInstituteofEducation WingOnLee
NanyangTechnologicalUniversity DavidHung
Singapore LaikWoonTeh
v
Foreword
Ways Forward in Arts, Education and Culture
This book embraces the arts, education and culture. As a tripartite operation with
historical roots and a natural evolution to the present moment, it holds principles
and premises of significance to artists, teachers, and cultural agents. Its three-
dimensionaldynamicisatonceSingaporean-localinitsfocusontheparticularities
oftheprogressiveisland-nationasitalsoiscross-culturallyuniversal,inthatlocal
issues are directly relevant to the teaching and learning of the arts in national
settings across the globe. This volume offers a dialogue on teaching and learning
music,dance,thevisualarts,theatre,andtheartofstorytellinginwaysthatbalance
philosophy and practice, and traditions and transformations. It is relevant reading
for those who are committed to the future of the arts in society and its schools.
Anywhere.
Singapore is alive in the arts. The sparkling gem of a city at the southeastern
edge of Asia, it shines in all of its artistic glory to its citizens and to waves of
international visitors annually. While there are clear indications of governmental
supportwiththeprimeintentoffinancialreturnthroughtourismandtheattraction
offoreigninvestorsintothecountry,itwouldseemthatthebrilliantexpressionsby
masterful artists benefit all citizens of the nation, including the young. The com-
mitment by Singapore to the support of a continuous engagement in the arts for
school-agedchildrenandyouthissurelynoteworthyintheseglobaltimesoffiscal
uncertaintiesandtheconsequentreductionofthescopeofeducationprograms(that
havefartoooftenresultedintheexclusionoftheartsinschools).ThatSingapore
hasinvestedinartseducation,andthatittakesseriouslytheevolutionofitscultural
policy as hinged to arts education, is inspiring to artists and educators in the arts
everywhere.Theintrigueiscertainlythere,toknowtheframeworksthatundergird
andupholdtheartsinSingaporeanculture,tounderstandthesystemsthatfosterthe
artsinschools,andtorecognizethatasnosocietyistrulyutopian,evenSingapore
hasitsowngrowingpainsinprovidingqualityeducationintheartsinwaysthatare
integrativeandabiding.
vii
viii Foreword
Asallsocietiesareinflux,eachwithitsownsetofgrowingpainsandcontext-
specific challenges, a view of the situation of the arts and arts education in
Singapore is not only a case in its own right but also a window to the wider
worldofthearts,educationandculture.Enterthisvolume,conceivedofbyartist,
educator,andscholarCheeHooLum,whohasassembledthosewithinandbeyond
Singapore to describe, analyze and interpret the current state of affairs regarding
school arts programs, the content and process of these programs, the preparation
and continued professionalization of teachers charged with responsibility for the
developmentofchildren’screative-expressivepractices,andthepedagogicalpath-
waysthatgenuinelyconnectchildrentotheartsandartistsforexperienceswiththe
potentialtolastalifetime.
We need only to consider a single issue—the diverse cultural traditions that
compriseanation’sartistic-expressivespectrum—(asoneofmanymattersathand)
to recognize the clear-and-present tensions there are for those who envision
a relevant and cogent school curriculum in the arts. Within the limitations of a
teacher’spreparationandthehoursofaschooldaywhosecurriculargoalisabroad
and representative curriculum, whose artistic expressions shall be threaded into
schoolmusicclassestoimpactchildren’sexpressivedevelopment?Forthecultur-
allydiversenationofSingapore,shalltraditionalChineseorchestrasbeestablished
inschools?Filipinokulintangs?Western-styledconcertbandsofwinds,brassand
percussion? Curricular units in the traditional songs and dances of the Malay
population, and group lessons on Indian tabla? All these (and more) engagements
arealreadyinplayinSingapore,andsincethesedecisionsarenotsoeasilymadeat
anygivenschool,onechoicemaynegatethepresenceofanotherandnotallmusical
cultureswillbeinevidenceevenincurricularpracticewhereequityisclaimedasan
important value. Knowledge of Singapore’s reasoned responses to its diverse
population in content decisions, and of its reconsiderations in view of current
researchandreflection,isprovocativeforsortingthroughreasons astohowthese
complexitiesarewrestledwiththereandelsewhereintheworld.
Somewhatindependentofquestionsofcontentwithinaprogramoftheartsfora
society and its schools are the processes by which people encounter and become
thoroughly engaged in the arts. From adults in the public sector who informally
experience the arts, to students learning the nature of the arts through prescribed
classroomencounters,tohighlymotivatedstudentswhoareintensivelyinvolvedin
honing a serious set of arts skills (such as at Singapore’s arts-infused SOTA),
processmeritscarefulattention.Processencompassesanalyticalandholisticpath-
ways,oralandliteratechannels,kinestheticapproachesthatbalancethemind-body
dualism,anddidacticandheuristicrealmsofinstructionalpractice.
In Singapore as elsewhere, both specialist and non-specialist teachers are
chargedwiththeresponsibilityforteachingthearts,andtheextentofpreparation,
supervision,andgenuineassistancetotheseteachersverywellinfluencestheextent
to which artistic experiences can be meaningful. (“Arts-light” activities, in which
the arts function as time-fillers and entertainment pieces, too often result when
teachers are insufficiently prepared in the art form and in the pedagogical tech-
niquesthataresuitabletothestudentsandthechosenart.)Teachersdeservesupport
Foreword ix
intherediscoveryofprocess:Theydeserveaspreadofoccasionstobethoughtful,
reflexive, resourceful, and wondrous of the “what-ifs” that happen when the
constraints of traditional ways of teaching give way to the facilitation of learning
in ways that students find appealing. The Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the
aRts(STAR)providespointsfordepartureandpossibletransferintoothersettings,
asitdelvesinto(anddocuments)transformativeprocessesinteachingandlearning,
actingupontherecognitionofteachersasactiveagentsofchange.Attentiontothe
preparationofteachersinthearts,andcontinuingassistancetothemastheymake
theirdailywayinservicetostudents,arekeytoinsuringthattheartswillcontinue
tobenefitstudents—andsociety—inprofoundways.
It’s fair to say that when it comesto the arts,education and culture, Singapore
bears watching—by Singaporeans and by those far distant from the South China
Sea.Thisvolumeopensapathwayforexploringartseducationwithinthecontextof
schoolsinasocietythathasembracedtheartsashumanexpressionofthebeauty,
joy,sorrow,angst,andsomuchmore.Itoffersanexaminationofartasexperienced
inperformanceandasvisualexpression,anditanalyticallytakestotaskwhathas
beenachievedwhilealsoopeninguphonestlytowhathasnotbeenaccomplished.
It presents provocative opportunities for consideration by arts educators of every
form and context. As Singaporeans steam ahead with ways to weave the arts into
thelives ofchildren andyouthintheireverydayworldoflearning, thesechapters
offer moments of repose, reflection, and reconsideration. We do well to look and
listentoSingaporeforitsphilosophicalframeworksforartsengagementinschools,
its articulation in cultural policy, its educational practices in classrooms and
communities,anditsresearchandrecommendationsforchange.
SchoolofMusic,UniversityofWashington, PatriciaShehanCampbell
Seattle,WA,USA
