School Dropout Phenomenon Within The Malay/Muslim Community in Singapore: Presumptions, Prescriptions and Disjunctions

Abstract

Dropping out of school remains an ongoing phenomenon plaguing Singapore despite considerable efforts at arresting it. Presently, there is a gross lack of research necessary for an objective understanding of the phenomenon locally. Existing discourse and perceptions of the problem remain characteristically dominated by anecdotes, presumptions and lamentations insufficiently backed by scientific findings. The adverse implications of the lacunae are reinforced by remedies and prescriptions ill-equipped and ill-informed to deal with the problem appropriately. Interviews with dropouts and their parents strongly suggest that the dropout problem is firmly rooted in the less privileged socio-economic status of groups predisposed to drop out of school. The characteristics presumed as the causes of the problem are but symptoms of a more badgering socio-economic issue. This thesis maintains that an accurate understanding of the dropout problem, not divorced from a broader and more consistent goal of social reform is vital for effective policy making.