Redefining the meaning of teaching in the era of (post-) performativity: the voices of Singaporean teachers

ABSTRACT

Performativity is a dominant mode of regulation in many education systems that has caused a significant shift in teaching and teacher professionalism, yet minimal attention has been paid to understanding it in non-Western contexts. This study explores Singaporean teachers’ perceptions of teaching within its unique and normalised performative structure. Based on the interview data of 15 secondary school teachers, there was a clear gap between the teachers’ inclusive notion of teaching beyond the exam and the performative norm of exam-oriented teaching. However, there was little room for teachers to practise such a notion because it was not appreciated and recognised by the accountability system and the social climate. This study suggests that the gap between the teachers’ conception of teaching and the norm does not necessarily indicate a conflict and is rather reducible because the teachers embraced the significance of the norm while calling for teaching more and better than the norm. To realise such teaching, a supportive environment and structure must be established that encourage teachers to practise diverse ideas and approaches to teach beyond the norm.

KEYWORDS:

• Performativity
• teaching
• teacher agency
• teacher belief
• Singapore

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Education (Singapore), Nanyang Technological University [Grant No.: SUG14/16JR] and the faculty research support program at Sungkyunkwan University.

Notes on contributors

Jina Ro

Jina Ro is an assistant professor at the Department of Education, Sugnkyunkwan University (SKKU). Her research interests involve curriculum studies, teacher education and qualitative research methods. Her work has been presented in several reputable journals, including Teaching and Teacher Education, Journal of Curriculum Studies and Professional Development in Education.