Thirty Years of Beginning Reading Instruction in Singapore

In Singapore, there has been little public debate about how children should be taught to read despite the many debates elsewhere between the phonics and the whole language proponents. At the same time, there have been many changes in beginning reading instruction since the 1970s. Meanwhile, a new English curriculum was introduced in 2001 with new implications for reading practices again. This paper, through a close study of curriculum documents, will discuss the changes in the philosophy of beginning reading instruction in Singapore from the 1970s to the 1990s. In particular, it will look at the place of phonics and holistic approaches in teaching children how to read. The paper will conclude with some comments and suggestions for a philosophy for teaching children how to read in the Singapore context

Curriculum · Learning to read · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Phonics · Sociology · Whole language · Educational Methods and Media Use · History · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development

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