Change and Continuity in the Culture of Singapore's Primary School Teachers From 1959 to 2006

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe thesis examines change and continuity in the culture of Singaporean primary school teachers in government and government-aided schools from 1959-2006. The core of the conceptual framework is based on Shibutanib s notion of culture as responses of a social group to problematic situations faced, complemented by Peter Hallb s view of the state as a structure of metapower and Bourdieub s concept of habitus, field, and cultural trajectory. The thesis notes that teachers in the industrial period (1959-1996) created and recreated five core cultural elements of the teacher cultural field and teacher habitus. These include a qualified openness to educational change; appreciation of multilingualism; belief in racial harmony; belief in meritocracy; and a qualified acceptance of educational authority. In the post-industrial period (1997-present and continuing), teachers are creating and recreating these five elements at an enhanced level. These five also constitute an inter-connected network operating in synergy and contradiction to each other.