Debated in Parliament on 12 Nov 2013.
Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Education (a) what the core components of the new Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) syllabus; (b) whether "Animal Welfare" is confirmed to be a core module for all students; and (c) if a specific module on "Common Special Needs/Disabilities" can be designated as a core, and not an optional, module in the CCE curriculum.
Mdm Speaker, the new CCE syllabus is anchored on core values, social and emotional competencies, and skills related to character and citizenship development. CCE lessons are based on the life experiences that students undergo, drawing out values and skills appropriate to the students' age.
Students are guided to apply the core values of respect, responsibility, resilience, integrity, care and harmony; make decisions and act on them in a responsible way. There is also a reflection component to encourage students to think of their experience, learn from it and apply their learning.
Students will also engage in various learning experiences, such as co-curricular activities, Learning Journeys and Values-in-Action programmes. These experiences provide authentic contexts in which they can apply what they learn in the classroom, thereby deepening their learning.
Animal welfare and common special needs and disabilities are both topics that are covered in CCE lessons. Through discussions on issues related to animal welfare, students will learn the concept of responsibility, and the values and attitudes they should adopt to be more responsible members of the family, community and the nation.
Through lessons on common special needs and disabilities, students are taught to appreciate diversity in the community, respect each other while appreciating different strengths and abilities and being sensitive to special needs.
I thank the Senior Minister of State for her response. I just want to ask the question again. I was told on the ground that animal welfare is considered a core component in the new CCE syllabus and "special needs" is not. Can the Senior Minister of State
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confirm that? Second, I am glad that, in any case, special needs and disabilities are covered. I want to ask the Senior Minister of State if MOE would consider for the Ministry to work with key disability groups to develop and fund the content and pedagogy, and perhaps to consider more online resources so that students and staff can access this content on a 24/7 anytime-anywhere basis.
With respect to the first question, whether it is a core subject for either one, the answer is no, not for either one. In the Member's original question, she asked whether it was a core module. A module, as we understand it or as it is applied in the curriculum, is a self-contained area of learning that is covered over a few lessons. So, neither animal welfare nor special needs are modules. Both however are individual lessons within life themes. Insofar as the Member is concerned that either one – whether the animal welfare or special needs – is taught to students, they are both covered and they are both given due weight.
With respect to the second question on pedagogy and whether we can work with special needs communities, the answer is that MOE would be very willing and open to have input from these communities.
On the third question for online learning, the answer is yes, and that is not limited just to CCE. MOE is looking at online learning across the board to see how we can more effectively teach, leveraging on online resources but also recognising that technology alone cannot replace the role that teachers play.
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