Research Bites

Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP)

The Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP) is a 3 year longitudinal study (from K1 to P1) examining how the home and classroom environment impact on children's learning and development. One particular focus is the quality of teacher-child interactions and how these facilitate children's holistic development. The objective of the research is to support the government's goal of formulating and evaluating strategies to raise the overall quality of preschool education in Singapore.

• Matching Emotions and Social and Emotional Difficulties

• Motor Skills, Self-Regulation and Early Academic Skills

• Professional Development Priorities of EC Educators

• Questioning in Teaching – Are All Questions Alike?

• Teacher-Child Interactions during Mealtimes

• Facilitating Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood Classrooms

• Facilitating Social and Emotional Learning through Outdoor Play 

• Facilitating Discovery and Learning in the Garden

• Parent Perceptions of School Readiness

• Home Literacy Environment: Shared Reading and Literacy Outcomes

• Home Literacy Environment: Child Literacy Interests and Outcomes

• Promoting Social and Emotional Learning through Shared Book Reading

iPreschooler

The iPreschooler study is a 3-year cross-sectional study examining digital media use and how it affects the quality of life of pre-school children between ages 2  and 6 years old. The study also survey parents on their digital media habits and attitudes toward their child’s digital media use and their awareness of professional guidelines on digital media use for young children. The study aims to contribute knowledge of digital media use among pre-school children for the betterment of their learning and holistic development.

• How long do pre-school children use digital media and how does the use of digital media affect their quality of life?

• What do pre-school children in Singapore use digital media for - entertainment and/or learning?

Constructing Values - Meanings and Implications for Practice in Singapore's Preschool Education Curriculum

The study, "Constructing Values – Meanings and Implications for Practice in Singapore’s Preschool Education Curriculum" is a 1.5-year long multidimensional qualitative study that explored the meanings and interpretations of the four values, respect, responsibility, care, and honesty espoused in NEL Framework 2022 and current practices for values education. The objectives of this study are to unpack the meanings of the four values and identify other values that are important for character development in early childhood, and to inform teaching and learning practices on values education.

• Cultivating Personhood Begins from Young

Understanding the Role of Caregiver-Child Pedagogical Questioning in Singaporean Children's School Readiness and Achievement

This study examined how caregivers’ use of pedagogical questions (PQs) supports children’s learning. Conducted with parent-child pairs at KidsSTOP™ in the Singapore Science Centre, the study tested an activity kit that encouraged question-based interactions. Findings showed that the kit enhanced children’s learning through encouraging parent-child PQs during the visit, suggesting that guiding parents to use such questioning can benefit children’s learning during everyday activities.

• The Role of Pedagogical Questioning