Chinese and English: primary school cultures in Singapore

Abstract

The culture of a school informs every aspect of its operations. The shortest and most common definition of culture is ‘the way we do things around here’. The methodology to depict the culture of a school has been debated, especially as to whether questionnaires can be used. This study examined the cultures of two primary schools in Singapore using a variety of means, incuding a questionnaire. One school has a history and is popularly perceived today as ‘Chinese'; the other is seen as ‘English’. Differences in teacher culture were found between the two schools and to a lesser extent between the English‐medium and Chinese‐medium teachers within a school. Overall a process of national homogenisation was found, driven largely by frequent examinations common to all schools. The questionnaire used provided a wealth of impressionistic data but needs to be modified to address leadership style directly.