Chapter 8: Secondary Social Studies in Singapore: Intentions and Contradictions

The field of social studies is contentious in terms of definition and delineation (Ross, 2001). What social knowledge is most important, which skills and behaviors are most valuable, and what values are most significant are context-specific. Consequently, to understand the social studies curriculum in any society, one must understand the national context in which it is embedded. Singapore is a “nation of immigrants,” a diverse society (or to use the Singapore term, “multiracial”) built by immigrants who came primarily from China, Malaysia, and Southern India. Located just off the southern tip of Malaysia, Singapore is a small island. It was a colonial nation, established as a free port by the British in the nineteenth century. Singapore gained self-rule in 1959 and became part of the newly independent Malaysian Confederation in 1963. This attachment was shortlived, however, and Singapore and Malaysia went their separate ways in 1965. Singapore today is an independent nation with a population of fewer than 4 million living on a tropical island 26 miles east to west and 14 miles north to south.