EAPSI: Cultural Underpinnings of Singapore Students' Good Performance in Mathematics: Implications for Mathematics Educators in the US

Abuabasa Daniel K, Paterson NJ

Investigators

Abstract

The United States has been bedeviled with poor mathematics performance of elementary and high school students for a long time now. This has been the concern of mathematics educators and policy-makers alike. Policy-makers and educators over the years have tried to remedy the situation by means of reforms - reforms aimed at improving pedagogy, teacher qualifications, and the curricula. Despite these reforms, the problem persists. On the contrary, Singapore's students in both elementary and high schools are performing exceedingly well in mathematics, and are ranked among the best in the world. Singapore has, therefore, become a sought-after country for advice for mathematics educators from the west, United States included. However, one area which they overlooked, and have not sought advice is the area of mathematics education culture in Singapore. This culture of teaching and learning mathematics is what this project seeks to study. Understanding the linkages between the cultural norms and the classroom behaviors of students can help inform mathematics instruction and mathematics education policy in other parts of the world, including the United States. This project will be conducted at the National Institute of Education, Singapore under the mentorship of Dr. Berinderjeet Kaur, whose primary research interest is in classroom pedagogy of mathematics teachers. The collaboration provides access to unique data that will enable new insights into students' mathematics performance. Anthropologists generally believe that some groups do well in school because their cultures are congruent with school culture (Ogbu, 1982). This project will therefore try to learn about the cultural norms of the society and the behaviors of students. Employing ethnographic methodology, the project will seek to understand the relationships between cultural norms and classroom behaviors of students and teachers in Singapore. The classroom and after school cultures of students and their teachers will be studied, and the impact of the cultural norms on students? ability to learn and do mathematics will be explored. Classroom observations and interviews of teachers, students and their parents will be conducted using audio and video tapes. The schools for this project will be selected and participants recruited with the help of my host in Singapore. This award, under East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the National Research Foundation of Singapore.