新加坡小学华文教科书对儿童国民意识 的建构（1965-1978）——以《公民》、《生活教育》为考察对象 = THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINESE TEXTBOOKS OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN SINGAPORE (1965-1978)

Abstract

This thesis explores the construction of children's national consciousness through the primary school Chinese textbooks in Singapore from the 1960s to the 1970s. Chapter Two focuses on the development of the publishing industry of Chinese textbooks. Based on deep analysis of the Chinese textbooks, oral history interviews, archival research, and government documents , This chapter argues that the shift of the publishing industry of Chinese textbooks was not only caused by censorship but also by the foundation of official institution . Chapter Three takes a close look at Civic-the first version of a primary school textbook after the founding of Republic of Singapore. Published by two unofficial companies, this textbook indicated that the publishing system played major role in shaping the complexity and diversity of values and national consciousness. With a particular focus on a representative Chinese textbook Education for Living, Chapter Four tries to deepen the understanding of how the national consciousness was built upon a new type of local culture and how the children's multiple national identity, political and cultural, was strengthened by emphasizing the theme of historical memory, consciousness of local identity, national policy and multi-ethnic culture. Through the analysis of textbooks produced last century, the thesis also touches upon political situations before and after the founding of Singapore, education policies, and other aspects of the society. More importantly, by the analysis of censorship and official publishing regulations of textbooks, through which government inculcates its ideology into its citizens, the thesis lends a fresh perspective to the issue of constructing Singaporean national consciousness from the 1960s to the 1970s.