Full Description
This edited volume examines the historical development of Chinese-medium schools from the British colonial era to recent decades of divergent development after the 1965 separation of Singapore and Malaysia. Educational institutions have been a crucial state apparatus in shaping the cultural identity and ideology of ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia. This volume applies various perspectives from education theory to heritage studies in dealing with the cultural legacy and memory of such schools as situated in larger contexts of society.
The book offers comprehensive practice-based analysis and reflection about the complex relationships between language acquisition, identity construction, and state formation from socio-political-cultural perspectives. It covers a broad range of aspects from identities of culture, gender, and religion, to the roles played by the state and the community in various aspects of education such as textbooks, cultural activities, and adult education, as well as the representation of culture in Chinese schools through cultural memory and literature.
The readership includes academics, students and members of the public interested in the history and society of the Chinese diaspora, especially in South East Asia. This also appeals to scholars interested in a bilingual or multilingual outlook in education as well as diasporic studies.
Contents
Introduction Far from Desuetude: Introduction to Chinese Schools as Cultural Legacy in Singapore and Malaysia Part 1: Power Structure of Education: Issues and Conceptualization 1. Questioning Official Knowledge: On the State and the Politics of Knowledge 2. Culture, Identity and Education Policy: An Interview of Michael W. APPLE in Singapore 3. The Challenge of Preserving Heritage Values of Chinese Schools in Singapore Part 2: Role of Chinese Community in Education: From Colonialism to New Nations 4. Chinese Community and Leaders' Connections with Singapore Schools: Sponsorship Case Study of Chinese High and Raffles Institution 5. Chinese Schools and the Development of Adult Education in Singapore: 1951-1957 6. Between Adherence and Autonomy: The Evolution of Chinese Textbooks in Singapore Part 3: Chinese Education in a Multiethnic Society: Malaysia Experience 7. Chinese Schools in Malaysia: Between Ethnic Aspirations and the Challenges of Forging A National Education 8. Chinese Education and Cultural Resilience: The Case of the Chinese Educationists in Malaysia 9. The Developmental Trend and Increasing Enrolment of Non-Chinese Students in Malaysia's Chinese Primary Schools: Challenges and Problems (1998-2018) Part 4: Rediscovering Chinese Schools: Cultural Memory and Legacy 10. Fundraising Activities as Collective Memory: Construction of School Identity in Anglican High School 11. A Mission in the Wilderness: Situating Chineseness in Bilingual Education at Maris Stella High 12. Changes of Heritage Values and Cultures in Chinese Schools: Perspectives of A Dunman High School 13. Reviewing the Inseparable Relationship between Singapore's Chinese-education Reform and Its Chinese Scar Literature
