The 'Teach Less, Learn More' initiative in Singapore: New pedagogies for Islamic religious schools?

Abstract

Against a backdrop of the nexus between education and national development in a knowledge-based economy, many states have extended their educational reforms to religious schools which are usually private schools not under direct state control. This paper explores how the Singapore government attempts to introduce 'new' pedagogies in madrasah education through new Islamic textbooks, a move that resonates with the national education initiative to 'teach less, learn more'. The paper argues that these student-centered pedagogies are not new as they have been propagated by Muslim scholars and practiced in Islamic institutions since the medieval times. But these pedagogies may be 'new' or unfamiliar to many madrasahs due to the prevalent teacher-centered pedagogies privileged in madrasahs today. © Korean Educational Development Institute 2009.