MOE Speech - SPEECH BY RADM TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION & SECOND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE NIE-CHS EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2003

PLEASE CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

SPEECH BY RADM TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION & SECOND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE NIE-CHS EDUCATION CONFERENCE 2003 ON MONDAY 17 MARCH 2003 AT 9:20 AM AT THE CHINESE HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

Mr Ch'ng Jit Koon, Chairman/Board of Governors

Professor Leo Tan, Director, National Institute of Education

Mr Hon Chiew Weng, Principal, The Chinese High School

Professor Paige Porter, Vice Provost, University of Western Australia

Ladies and gentlemen

             Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to address you this morning.

2.           This joint Conference, organised for the first time between the National Institute of Education (NIE) and The Chinese High School (TCHS), is a significant event in Singapore's quest to develop our schools as thinking and learning organisations, and teachers as life-long-learners. To stay relevant and keep abreast of the changing needs of our students, schools will need to cultivate an adaptive and supportive environment, and teachers need to be equipped with the skills to manage these changes. Activities like this Conference bring educators together in an enterprise of sharing, and expand opportunities for continuous training and professional development.

3.           Today's event also illustrates NIE's role beyond teacher training and education, to promoting continuous learning. This event helps to foster a collaborative culture between NIE and schools by encouraging the interflow of ideas, experience, pedagogy and practices. From such energetic and fertile discussions, new ideas and initiatives may spring forth, enriching our educational processes and methods.

4.           Inquiry and Research are important vehicles to discover new information, develop new insights, and create new knowledge. Research in the institutions of higher learning may focus on more fundamentals and theoretical issues. Research and inquiry conducted where learning and teaching takes place is a natural extension. Good research work brings our teachers into a closer examination of the methods and principles that define their work, and cultivates the very skills that we want all our teachers to have: critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and practical investigating.

5.           This closing of the gap between inquiry and research and practice, and the bridging of cross-institutional exchanges, brings a new dynamism to the whole context of learning and teaching. I am glad to see that this drive towards promoting a rich research culture in education has also been assisted by the increasing awareness among educators for its need.

6.           This passion to engage in inquiry, research and learning is seen in the large numbers of teachers applying for postgraduate studies at the NIE. To date, there are more than 500 teachers who apply to read the general Master of Education Programme at NIE, of which 200 will be enrolled. In the restructured Masters programmes with subject specialisations, there are over 100 teachers taking 10 different specialisations, including Science, Mathematics, and Music, just to name a few. The restructured Masters programme prepares teachers for the various areas of focus within our schools, as well as aligning them with the Specialist Track initiated by the MOE.

7.           At The Chinese High School, teachers have been encouraged to embark on a Master of Education Programme with the University of Western Australia conducted in the school. The first batch of 20 teachers have completed the programme, and I extend my congratulations to them. I understand that a second batch of 17 teachers from The Chinese High School and other secondary schools have already started their course.

8.           Teachers from The Chinese High School have also enrolled in various postgraduate courses conducted by the NIE and our local universities. This initiative from the school to promote postgraduate study among its teachers has seen 57 out of the 130-strong faculty working towards or obtaining a Master's degree. I commend the teachers on their ability to manage their work and learning at the same time, and the commitment of schools to provide a thriving environment and to invest in the research capital of its faculty.

9.           The papers presented at this Conference also showcase the range of important issues that are deserving of inquiry in our schools. These range from Mathematics and Science, to School Organisation, Creative Learning and Information Technology, to Guidance and Counselling. Their scope and level span the primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges.

10.         These school based studies and classroom-centred action research have the potential to improve the teaching and learning process in our schools, for the benefit of our students. By engaging in such research, our teachers are also developing their own professional competency. By publishing their investigations and sharing their findings with their colleagues, they help to create a nourishing and enriching culture within the teaching fraternity.

11.         I would like to congratulate the NIE and The Chinese High School for their effort in organising this Conference, and to all the teachers for their invaluable contributions. My best wishes also to the teachers who will be receiving their Masters' degrees. I hope that you will be able to pass on to your students the desire to expand the boundaries of knowledge, and to nurture in them the same qualities of creativity, discipline and intellectual curiosity that have brought you to this point in your own careers.

Thank you.