Speeches
Speech by Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education at the Educational Research Association of Singapore (ERAS) Conference 2009 on Thursday, 19 November 2009, 9.20am at NTU Lecture Theatre 1A
Professor Lee Sing Kong, Director of NIE,
Associate Professor Lee Ong Kim,
President of the Educational Research Association of Singapore,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am happy to join you this morning at your biennial conference. The next two days will undoubtedly present you with numerous opportunities to engage fellow participants on new ideas pertaining to scope and quality in educational research. With delegates from various parts of the Asia-Pacific region, I am sure the deliberations will be rich and meaningful.
Purpose of Educational Research
It is appropriate that this conference, once again, focuses our attention on educational research. Educational research, through scholarly inquiry, can help inform teaching practices, improve school systems and, ultimately, enhance the education our students receive. It is an intellectual enterprise that can be, and is, undertaken by academics and practitioners alike.
In Singapore, we have been encouraging our teachers to undertake action research to help improve classroom practice and the quality of student learning. And many have responded to the call, judging by the number of teachers who will be sharing their research findings at this conference. Teachers, on their own or in collaboration with other established education researchers, can explore new frontiers within teaching and education. Teachers bring a practitioner’s perspective to educational issues, thereby engendering new understanding and breakthroughs that can raise the overall quality of education across our schools.
Classroom Research by Teachers
As the central agent in a classroom, a teacher is particularly well-positioned to conduct research into pedagogic changes that can be introduced. Teachers can approach their research based on their understanding of classroom situations and school conditions which can render their research findings more practical and readily applicable.
I am, therefore, glad that the ERAS conference offers teacher researchers a platform to share the findings of their action research projects with fellow teachers and academics. I urge our teachers to make full use of this opportunity to learn from fellow researchers and hone their craft as part of their professional development.
Teacher development is intrinsic to the theme of this conference—“Unpacking Teaching and Learning through Educational Research”. It is a reminder to us all that teaching and learning are at the core of educational research. Teachers can draw on their reservoir of experience and learning in the classroom context to bring about a teacher-driven collegiate culture of professional excellence. MOE supports such efforts to innovate and has given teachers, who are keen to engage in action research, more time and space to undertake studies to improve the teaching-learning process.
Professional Learning Communities
MOE has also encouraged schools to form Professional Learning Communities where teachers come together regularly to share and learn from one another. Such continual professional dialogue and feedback are key drivers of enhancement and innovation in the classroom. The establishment of the Teacher’s Development Centre—which is run by educators for educators to come together and share, learn or engage in research—will, I hope, give further impetus to teachers to gather and work collectively towards a higher level of professional competence.
To sustain this drive for professional development, organizations like the Educational Research Association of Singapore (ERAS) play a key part. ERAS complements the Education Ministry’s efforts and helps build the capacity and professional expertise of our teachers in research. In particular, by organizing research symposiums and conferences such as this, ERAS provides useful platforms for our educators to showcase their research work in the classroom, to interact with international and local participants, and to learn from each other. I urge ERAS to continue this good work and support our teachers in their research endeavours ahead.
In conclusion, I do hope that the teacher researchers among us today will be encouraged and spurred on in their pursuit of professional excellence knowing that they have much support not only from the Ministry, but also their peers and school leaders to continuously learn and improve. I also hope that many more teachers will be inspired by the example of their peers, who will be presenting their research findings at this conference, to undertake research of their own.
I wish you all a fruitful conference. Thank you.