A Critical Discourse of Singapore’s School Geography for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

School Geography has experienced changes in curricula over the past few decades. In each iteration, the Ministry of Education has endeavoured to design a geography curriculum that is relevant to the needs of Singapore for each of those time periods. Between the 1960s to the late 1970s, it was taught as Regional Geography, covering a range of geographical topics for each selected region. Thematic Geography was introduced in the 1980s to school Geography in Singapore. In 1997, school Geography curriculum underwent changes leading in a new national curriculum at the turn of the century in 2001, in response to a state-driven education initiativeThinking Schools, Learning Nations. A mid-term review of that curriculum in 2007 resulted in a distinct form of school Geography unprecedented in Singapore’s education history. Today, school Geography in Singapore is learnt conceptually with national level assessment designed to that end. In response to the changes in school Geography, pre-service and in-service teacher training has also responded by focusing on conceptual learning and inquiry. This paper will explore the state of school Geography curricula in Singapore today, and the curriculum of teacher training, with the intent to critically discuss if Geography education in Singapore is educating an informed citizen for these changing times. Geography has been a school subject in Singapore since its independence. Although it has remained a disciplinary subject whose place has yet been disputed, the big question of why study Geography in the first place needs to be answered to ensure its continued survival. This paper ends by offering a reason to why Geography plays an important role in education for Singaporeans, and even to any citizen of the world in our changing times.