Preliminary dissertation research

Slide 1: the invisible whole Schools and the development of national identity in young children

Slide 2: Research Proposal • To investigate the process by which schools in Singapore help young children develop national identity. • To study how children make meaning of their experiences in school as they begin to think of themselves as citizens. • To investigate whether teachers see a role for themselves in this national identity development process.

Slide 3: Existing scholarship • Nationalism and national identity formation • Citizenship education • The role of schools in nation-building • Political socialization • Identity formation in young children

Slide 4: Why national identity and young children?

Slide 5: The work of Robert Coles “... is to the stories that children have to tell what Homer was to the tale of the Trojan War.”

Slide 8: Why Singapore? • Fairly young nation • Rapidly globalizing and modernizing • Multi-racial; multi-ethnic; multi-cultural • Centralized national education system • Implemented National Education Program

Slide 11: Next Steps • Expand and consolidate literature review • Develop interview protocol and measures (both teachers and students) • Pilot study • Refine instruments • Data collection

Slide 12: the end.