The Journal of Social Studies Education in Asia, Vol.7, pp.1-18, 2018

Rocking the Boat: Critical Reflexivity in Social Studies Teachers
Malathy Krishnasamy

National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Jasmine B.-Y. Sim

National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Shuyi Chua

National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Abstract
This qualitative study examines how critical reflexivity is manifested in and enacted by seven Social Studies
teachers, in the Singaporean context of ethnic diversity, increased affluence and socio-political constraints. The
cases show that critically reflexive teachers are strongly influenced by their lived experiences to develop good
self-understanding and a deep sensitivity to systemic inequalities around them. Critical reflexivity presents as acontinuum, with most teachers working towards improving their students’ critical thinking and awareness toinequity through their teaching, while some undertake personally transformative journeys that also effect change
in their immediate communities. Findings provide insights on the motivations behind critically reflexive
attitudes, and also point to factors that hinder a greater development of critical reflexivity. We suggest that criticalreflexivity attitudes can be developed in teachers via programs such as currere, for enhanced teaching practice.
Findings also highlight the nuances in the nature of citizenship values in the Asian context, suggesting thatcritical reflexivity involves small and subtle actions of change and agency in teacher-practitioners.

Keywords: citizenship education, currere, reflexivity, social justice, social studies.

Introduction
Globally, citizenship issues are more complex and challenging than ever before, problematized forexample, by transnational flows of people, ideas and goods, increased connectivity among countries, multiple
and overlapping identities, and increasing income inequality within and across countries. Within Singapore, thelandscape has evolved dramatically with greater social class differences and the emergence of new lifestyles,reflecting greater affluence and individualizing tendencies. Singapore ranks among the world’s most globalized
and competitive countries (Gygli, Haelg, & Sturm, 2018; Schwab, 2017) but it also has a Gini coefficient of
0.458 in 2016 (Yong, 2017), which makes it one of the most unequal societies among the developed countries.
More than ever, we need citizens who are critical, adaptable, and thoughtful. Schools must educate
students to be aware of inequalities in society, and have the skills and willingness to tackle various problems.

1Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chua

Teachers are the gatekeepers of the classroom and exert tremendous influence on students’ access to content
and instructional activities (Thornton, 1991). Our focus in this study is on the social studies teacher, who plays
a key role in citizenship education (Lee & Fouts, 2005). The teacher implements the citizenship education
curriculum, acting as the bridge between the intended and enacted curriculum. Therefore, teachers are thedecision-makers on what and how to teach, and in determining whether students are sensitized to systemic issues
in society and empowered with knowledge and skills to make a difference. It is thus important to examine
teachers’ ideas and beliefs about social justice and social action, and whether they have the ability to look bothinwards, to the self, and outwards to dominant messages in society - to make sense of their realities.
In this article, we build on our findings reported in an earlier paper, where three types of citizenshipconceptions, namely character-driven, social-participatory and critically-reflexive conceptions were surfaced(Sim, Chua, & Krishnasamy, 2017). Although these conceptions corresponded loosely with the conceptions
identified by Westheimer and Kahne (2004), namely personally responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented,
we are also mindful that Western models of citizenship may not adequately describe the citizenship conceptions
that are present in a non-Western context. Indeed, there were significant differences and distinct nuances,
particularly in the critically-reflexive conception. Singapore teachers who identified as belonging to thisconception, while somewhat similar to teachers identified as justice-oriented in Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004)
study, also displayed a strong sense of critical introspection. They examined their own life choices, experiences,and meaning-making deeply and intellectually, which in turn impacted their teaching, behaviours, and attitudes.
In this article, we examine the nature of critical reflexivity exemplified in this group of teachers, and explore
how such a characteristic had developed, and also whether this trait manifests itself both in their classroom
teaching and in their day-to-day lives.

Literature Review
Reflexivity
Although reflexivity has been widely debated across a range of disciplines, there is still confusion overits meaning. In this section, we unpack the meaning of reflexivity, drawing from a selection of works insociology, social work, and organizational studies where the concept has been more widely discussed, to help
us better understand the nature of critical reflexivity as a conception of citizenship. At a simple level, reflexivity
can mean the ability to look both inwards - to the self and outwards - to dominant messages in society - to makesense of how things are. With reflexivity, we think from within experiences, or as the dictionary puts it, thoughts
are “directed or turned back on itself” (Merriam-Webster, 2018).
Broadly speaking, reflexivity can be critical or non-critical in nature, though this seems like acontradiction, as reflexivity is already a kind of turning on itself. In the literature, however, non-criticalreflexivity downplays the issues of political power and structural inequalities that exist in society, whileassuming that individuals have mastery over societal forces present in one’s life (D’Cruz, Gillingham, &Melendez, 2007; Trevelyan, Crath, & Chambon, 2014). Critical reflexivity, on the other hand, recognizes thatpower and knowledge are linked in complex ways. The individual scrutinizes and actively interrogates theassumptions he or she carries about knowledge generation and power relations, particularly how the taken-for-2

The Journal of Social Studies Education in Asia

granted underlying logic and values shape the discourses and practices in use in specific contexts (D’Cruz et al.,2007; Stanley & Wise, 1993; Trevelyan et al., 2014). For this reason, critical reflexivity goes beyond reflecting
on the more mechanical aspects of practice to include deep attention to individual positioning within social
contexts (Danielewicz, 2001; Dressman, 1998). The attribute ‘critical’ means the commitment to socialtransformation (Kessl, 2009, p. 311). Critical reflexivity transforms because it requires deep thought and carefulconsideration that “to create critical knowledge which potentially challenges and resists current forms ofdomination” (Fook, 2000, p. 118).

Related Concepts: Reflection, Critical Pedagogy and Currere
Reflection
While reflexivity is not a widely used term in education, there are related ideas of criticality that areresonant in education. In his book How We Think, Dewey (1997) wrote of the importance of reflection orreflective thinking, for educators – both as individuals and as members of a community. Reflection involves
careful thought and interrogation – “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed formof knowledge in light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends” (Dewey, 1997,
p. 6). Reflection is grounded in experience, most particularly in experience that is problematic, perplexing, andthat is a “felt difficulty” (Dewey, 1997, p. 72). Such an experience, involving feelings of disorientation,
discomfort, and other emotions, moves the individual into reflection and ultimately into a transformative state.
Dewey’s work on reflection was expanded by Schon (1987), who linked it to professional practice with theconcept of reflection-in-action, that is the process of thinking and reflection even while in the act of teaching(Howard, 2003).

Critical pedagogy
Critical pedagogy is a teaching philosophy most associated with Brazilian educator and activist, PauloFreire that attempts to help students question and challenge domination. The idea of a just society in whichpeople have political, economic, and cultural control of their lives is central to critical pedagogy (Burbules &Berk, 1999; Kincheloe, 2005).
Proponents of critical pedagogy advocate for social justice through education in a process called
conscientization or "critical consciousness.” Conscientization begins with the recognition of a system of
oppressive relations, and one’s own place in that system (Freire, 1973). It involves critical awareness of thesocial practices and structures that are embedded in everyday life and how they serve to maintain the dominanceof people in power. Conscientization is reflexive as it calls for self-examination of one’s current and past
circumstances to make sense of them (James, 2008).
For Freire (1973), change in consciousness and concrete action are linked. Transformation occurs
through active revolution, which has a key role in removing structures of power. Hence, educators who are
critical pedagogy advocates believe in an action-oriented approach, “guided by passion and principle, to help
students develop consciousness of freedom, recognize authoritarian tendencies, and connect knowledge topower and the ability to take constructive action” (Giroux, 2010). In teaching towards social justice, somescholars argue that educators who hope to create concrete societal change must themselves engage in social
action within and outside of their classrooms (Marshall & Anderson, 2008; Picower, 2011). They believe that3

Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chua

without action, the structures of oppression that they teach about remain intact. If this is the understanding, thento what extent can critical pedagogy be used by teachers in Singapore classrooms?
That being said, teachers may not participate in social action for various reasons. Picower (2015)
identified four reasons or “tools” why teachers in a social justice education program did not participate inactivism. These reasons included substitution, postponement, displacement, and dismissal. First, they
substituted social action with their classroom teaching. Second, they postponed social action to the future. Third,
they displaced the responsibility of social action to others. Fourth, they dismissed social action as impossible.
These reasons for inaction were given in the US context. We were interested to see if there were similar factors
in the Singapore context, or if there were other, more local factors relating to inaction.

CurrereAnother strand of critical thinking and agency is found in Pinar’s (1975) work on currere. Currere is anautobiographical method of reflecting on one’s lived experiences, both as learner and teacher, from a narrative
perspective. It invites one
to slow down, to remember even re-enter the past, and to meditatively imagine the future. Then, slowly
and in one’s own terms, one analyzes one’s experience of the past and fantasies of the future in order tounderstand more fully, with more complexity and subtlety, one’s submergence in the present. (Pinar,
2004, p. 4)
Specifically, Pinar (1975) discussed currere primarily in the U.S. educational context, where he iscritical of taken-for-granted aspects of school such as standardized testing, lack of intellectual freedom, and thepoliticized agenda. He suggests a reconceptualized curriculum that is more open, and connects content
knowledge, student and teacher subjectivities, society, and historical context. The method of currere involves
four steps: the regressive, the progressive, the analytical, and the synthetical. Through these steps, educational
practitioners examine their lived experiences of school in the past and present, and look ahead to imagine future
possibilities. Such reflections necessarily involve an examination of the self within the dimensions of one’ssocial environment and context, “in the interest of self-understanding and social reconstruction” (Pinar, 2004, p.
188). Thus for teachers, the method of currere can allow possibilities for change and transformation in the waysthat they understand, enact, and reconstruct curriculum; also in their private lives as they become “mobilized forengagement with the world” through a deeper understanding of self and society (Pinar, 2012, p. 47). Elementsof currere, such as autobiography, reflection, story-telling, and narration are used in teacher education,
particularly in North America (Kissel-Ito, 2006; Meier, 2016; Wang, 2010).

The Singapore Context
As a tiny island-state that became independent only in 1965, Singapore is a democracy that has
progressed at astonishing speed, becoming an economic powerhouse that is known for its corruption-freeadministration, its productive work force, and less positively, for its tightly controlled politics. Chua (2007) notesthat Singapore has a “less than fully democratic political system,” with a somewhat minimalist interpretation of
democratic practice (p. 912). He argues that the ruling party, the PAP, has a system of political culturalism thatsituates citizenship along race-based lines, and provides an ideological base for non-liberal political institutions.

4The Journal of Social Studies Education in Asia

Singapore’s education policy also reflects this race-based aspect. English is the first language, occupyinga so-called “neutral” position among the ethnic languages, which are termed as “mother tongue” languages, andwhich also hold importance as entry subjects to the university. Ethnic diversity is thus managed by theeducational system, with the Government controlling most, if not all, all aspects of curriculum and teaching(Gopinathan, 2001). Despite, or perhaps because of such a controlled education system, Singapore excels on
the educational front, regularly topping international tests such as the TIMSS (Teng, 2016) and PISA (Hung,2017).
Among the various subjects taught at schools, Social Studies is a compulsory and examinable subject
at the upper secondary level, and includes the inculcation of citizenship values and competencies in students.
First introduced to the Singapore curriculum in 2001, the goal of Social Studies is citizenship education and thedevelopment of an “informed and active citizenry committed to the well-being of the society and nation”(CPDD, 2016, p. 4). One important aspect of an “informed and active citizenry” could be a well-developed
sense of criticality and social justice.

Methodology
The case study methodology was used in this study, with the teacher as the unit of analysis. The casestudy is “an exploration of a bounded system or a case (or a collection of cases) over time through detailed, indepth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context” (Creswell, 1998, p. 61). Thismethodology allows for an intensive examination of the teacher and provides a foundation upon which
description, induction, and interpretation can be drawn.
This study focuses on seven social studies teachers who were studied over one school semester or 10
weeks. Five of these teachers were from our previous study on citizenship conceptions (Sim et al., 2017), while
another two, Shaiful and Aisyah, were recruited at the start of this study. Consistent with the case study design,multiple sources of information were identified including interviews, classroom observations, and documents.
Teachers were asked about their perceptions of citizenship and how they saw themselves as citizens. Other
questions delved into influences and experiences that they felt had contributed to their conceptions of citizenship,and shaped their identities as citizen-teachers. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Naturalistic lesson observations of up to five social studies lessons were also conducted.
Data analysis was data-driven and inductive, shaped largely by the constant comparative method, which
was used to unitize and categorize the data (Glaser & Strauss, 1999). Data was then grouped together on asimilar dimension to form a category. Categories that emerged were refined. Triangulation of the data from themultiple sources was done to maintain the credibility of the findings. Member checking was performed bychecking with teachers whether they agreed with some of the conclusions we had made.

Findings
In our findings, we examine how critical reflexivity is exemplified in the seven teachers. Criticallyreflexive teachers are inclined to scrutinize and interrogate the assumptions about knowledge generation andpower relations, and deeply attuned to individual positioning within social contexts. In this section, we first5Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chua

explore teachers’ awareness and understanding of societal inequalities, followed by an examination of theirsocial action.

Critical Reflexivity Regarding Inequality(i) Social class
All participants were aware of uneven systemic privileges; in fact, they each identified as being
privileged in some way or other. Their ideas on privilege mostly focused on issues of social class, wealth, orfamily support. Michelle, who has taught at a school in an affluent neighborhood for eight years, said, “My
profile is somewhat similar to my students. Rather privileged. I have the good end of a great stick - I have a
happy family.” Mike, a teacher of 26 years, expressed it this way, “I feel privileged. The fact that I have what I
have. The fact that I have the friends I have, the family I have, the work I have, the ability to sustain a decent
lifestyle. I feel privileged.”
Likewise, Maria, a teacher of 26 years, felt privileged for her educationally rich home environment she
was aware that “not many families have.” The home literacy environment can be used as a proxy for social class,as research has shown that poor households have less access to learning materials and experiences to create apositive literacy environment (Bradley, Corwyn, McAdoo, & Coll, 2001). Maria shared,
I love to read, my family buys books, and share about what we read. We also have heated debates, likewhether to accept gays, we fight tooth and nail to defend our stand … My husband and I were in the
Toastmaster’s Club, we used to go to community centers and companies to teach public speaking. We
love to communicate … I feel privileged in this sense, I take pride that my family and I have brains thatthink.
May, a teacher of 21 years also felt privileged. Like Michelle, Mike, and Maria, May’s privilege
stemmed from social class. Coming from “a poor family background,” May was aware of the “lack of.” Sheshared, “I grew up in poverty, my parents are not educated, only my dad was working and he earned little. WhenI was younger, I felt, why am I not able to have what others have?” Instead of feeling bitter about her family
circumstances, May turned it into a kind of capital, or more accurately, an inverse kind of privilege. She
explained,
Now that I’m older, I’m glad for my humble background because it taught me empathy… how a lessprivileged student will feel when he doesn’t have the means to go on fieldtrip and needs financial help.
So to me now, it has become a privilege.
Among the seven teachers, it was generally those from the majority Chinese ethnicity who focused onsocial class as the key source of inequality. They tended to describe inequality from the perspective of advantage.
Keenly aware of their own privileged position, they often inserted themselves as examples, and talked
subjectively about inequality. They were self-conscious of how their privilege framed the way they viewed
reality. For example, Michelle admitted that, “[y]ou ask me if I really know how the underprivileged or thepeople who suffered injustices feel, the truth is I don't. If giving them more means taking something away fromme, I struggle to reconcile that.” Similarly, May exhibited self-awareness when she explained, “Actually it
depends on your perception and mindset. A situation can be interpreted as good or bad. I don’t resent that I camefrom a poor family, because then I know empathy.”

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The Journal of Social Studies Education in Asia(ii) RaceAmong minority-race participants, the sense of privilege was undercut with personal experiences of
having to fight the system or having experienced unfair treatment due to race. Adila, a teacher of eight years,
mentioned how the Singapore policy of pegging racial identity to four tightly organized groups of Chinese,
Malays, Indians and Others (CMIO) disadvantaged her, a person of Arabic origin. After her father fell ill,finances became tight and she could not afford to go to the university. She tried to get financial help fromMENDAKI, the Malay-Muslim self-help community organization: “Although I’m not Malay, I thought being
Muslim would qualify me for some help there. No, I was turned down. No bursary, no loan, nothing, because
I’m not Malay. In my identity card, I’m Others. We’ve never really belonged.” Adila felt strongly that the policyof ascribing CMIO labels to people did not further the appreciation or even acknowledgement of diversity andnuance that is present in Singaporean community, saying “You can’t know people as groups, but we have beenraised to do that for way too long.”
Shaiful, a male teacher of Malay origin who has taught for 14 years, said that from a young age, hebegan to notice the subtle differences, “some form of discrimination, some form of stereotypes” that clung tothose of minority racial backgrounds. Shaiful, whose wife is from the majority Chinese ethnicity, said, “First
question my mother-in-law asked my wife when my wife told her that she’s dating me was, “Is he a drug addict?”
It’s real, this kind of stereotyping.” Describing himself as a “reluctant citizen,” Shaiful said he felt sidelined byrace-based policies. He brought up the issue of Malays in the Singapore National Service (NS). It is a statutory
requirement for all male Singaporean citizens to undergo a period of compulsory service in the uniformed
services. However, few Malays are present in senior and sensitive positions in the Singapore Army (Barr, 2006;
Chua, 2003). The policy was to avoid forcing the Malays to have to choose in a conflict between theirreligion/race and country, due to racial and religious affinity with the Malays in Malaysia and Indonesia (Barr,
2006; Seah, 2002).
Another Malay teacher, Aisyah, who has taught for seven years, spoke of an incident where a Chineseparent questioned her school over a cheating case among several students. The case was investigated by threeteachers, all of whom were Malay. The parent requested a new investigation because he felt the teachers might
have colluded with each other, being Malay. Aisyah was angry and shocked at the lack of trust in the teachers’
integrity. “It made me think hard… I feel like I had to constantly prove my worth.” She spoke of a need toconsciously assert her Malayness:
I had to decide whether I want to be Malay or Singaporean. I chose to be Malay [because] I felt the
responsibility and need of my community. I feel it’s important to emphasize my ethnicity because it’sa platform for me to assert certain authority or ideas. Because people don’t really see us as being
prominent or anything – they’re like “Oh, this teacher is not so capable because she is Malay.”
Such disjuncture with the state’s professed narrative of harmonious multiculturalism and meritocracy points tounevenness in society, and is also noticed by some of the Chinese majority ethnicity. May said, “Indians,
sometimes they call them names. I feel it isn’t appropriate. To me, a truly integrated society is when don’t evenneed to register your race in your IC – you are just Singaporean.”(iii) Other discriminatory practices and attitudes
Other examples of discriminative practices and attitudes pertaining to public housing, streaming(academic tracking) and LGBT were also raised. Because the teachers either personally experienced the7Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chuadiscrimination or it happened to people they knew well, two of the teachers were “really upset” and even angry
when talking about the discrimination. Michelle was “really upset” when she brought up the issue of public
housing being unavailable to single people below 35 years of age, “like her.” She said, “I’m 33 and single, I
don't fit the government’s definition of family of father, mother, and children.” As a result, “I’m affected by thislaw that makes public housing unavailable to single people. Discrimination against singles … it’s controversial.”
Similarly, Adila was angry with public housing schemes that discriminate against single mothers frombuying a flat, because they are not recognized as a family nucleus. The discrimination affected one of her
students who came from a poor single mother family, who had to be “put up with relatives and move from place
to place when the goodwill ran out.” She said,
The government promotes the conventional family. How are single mothers not conventional? I know
this single mother, she tries to make ends meet … they contribute to the economy, their children are
your precious resource. Why make it so hard for them to own an HDB [flat]1?
May spoke of the ill effects of academic streaming of students. She shared,
I feel strongly about streaming… it sorts students into Express, Normal (Academic) [NA], Normal(Technical) [NT]2 and labels the kids. The stigma remains with those students who are streamed into
the NA and NT streams. It really tugs my heart…how the policy may have implications on the life of achild.
Mike, meanwhile, felt strongly about the social and legal challenges that gay persons face in Singapore. “It is
now not illegal to commit adultery (laughs). Yah, they took out the provision that adultery is against the law.
Everything they took out except the 337A. So that in a way is unjust.” Section 337A of the Penal Code Singapore
is a piece of legislation that criminalizes sex between mutually consenting adult men.
It was not just the teachers’ personal experiences or their observations of society that caused them todevelop deep understandings of democracy conceptions, such as justice, equity, power, and cultural diversity.
Most of the participants also read widely which, among other things, afforded them a means to examine diverse
narratives of Singapore and Singaporean-ness. For example, Maria spoke of the importance of actively seeking
out different perspectives on political issues, articulated by voices seldom heard in the mainstream media. She
said,
I like reading. And I am not blind-sided by one side. I ploughed through the entire series of Lee Kuan
Yew’s books. I also read the other side, like Francis Seow’s To Catch a Tartar and Teo Soh Lung’s
The Blue Gate. I need to see a balance, collect information - then you see a deeper vibrancy, a deeper
current that is going on beneath that still water.
The teachers in this study, while observing and taking note of instances of hegemony in their social andcultural environment, also examined their own participation in existing inequalities. Such critical reflexivity isa crucial element in citizenship conceptions. Some teachers were aware that they were enjoying privileged lives,
but even as they acknowledged the injustice that enabled their privileges, they could not let go of them. There
were feelings of guilt, shame, or powerlessness associated with this. Michelle said, “Privilege is a burden; myprivilege traps me. I don’t feel I deserve all these. It is overwhelming.” Mike called himself a “running dog,”saying in a self-mocking way: “I’m a running dog and proud of it.” He elaborated, “You realized that life isnever fair, you basically have to be happy with the best situation. You can’t have 100% justice. … Sometimes
I do feel conflicted, but if this is the best situation, so be it.”8

The Journal of Social Studies Education in Asia

Critical Reflexivity Regarding Action for Social Change
Critically reflexive teachers are also likely to be inclined towards social transformation, as the nature of
critical reflexivity involves creating the kinds of knowledge that can challenge and resist domination. The
teachers in this study were sensitive to unequal institutional structures and practices, as described in the section
above. We now examine their willingness to participate in social change in the section below.

(i) Changing ways of thinking and seeing through teaching
A major strand of literature on citizenship education advocates for teachers to be agents of change. It is
not enough to hold strong views about social justice; active work against social inequalities is needed (Banks,
2004; Picower, 2015; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). The teachers in this study all advocated for change, most
specifically change in ways of thinking and seeing, in their classroom teaching. Adila, in particular, wants tochange how her students approach race. She was aware that her students are hesitant to discuss issues regarding
race and religion. For her, race and religion are not “sensitive issues but critical issues to be discussed.” Adila
observed that students hid behind the term “racism” to be politically correct: “They use racist for everything to
avoid ‘sensitive issues’.” But she saw it as her responsibility to challenge students to be critical, to “deconstruct
misconceptions of race,” because “when we avoid talking about race, we perpetuate racism.” Students, she felt,
were “not given enough opportunities to discuss race and religion in class,” as many teachers were
uncomfortable handling sensitive issues. She noted that the new Social Studies curriculum offers room fordiscussion: “The syllabus includes a section on Diversity. That gives me lots of opportunities to deconstructissues.” As a minority-race Muslim woman, she also felt she could engage her students on race and religion
without compunction.
In one of her lessons, Adila brought up the case of Anton Casey, an expatriate who had posted on social
media disrespectful comments about Singaporeans and the public transport system, for discussion. Aware ofher students’ hesitation in discussing race issues, she chose an “outsider” as a subject of discussion. Thereafter,
she raised the bar and introduced Amy Cheong, a Singapore Permanent Resident of Chinese descent who had
also made disrespectful remarks on social media about a Malay wedding. She asked the students: would Amy’s
remarks still be regarded as “racist,” if she had criticized a Chinese funeral rather than a Malay wedding. Hence,
Adila carefully problematized race, surfaced students’ misconceptions, and opened them for discussion.
Others also felt that their role as teachers afforded them a special position to affect social change within
the younger generation. For example, May, who felt “ very strongly against streaming,” also said that she
accepted it, albeit reluctantly. “But you have to be realistic, this is Singapore,” she chuckled as she said,
I tried to voice out, but was it heard? (laughs)…there is no way you can change a system that is so
ingrained, unless the people up there see light, you know, the ministers feel there is a need to relook.
Take the PSLE grading, they relooked, but it’s still (laughs) ... just in form, not in essence, that kind ofchange. So this is how Singapore runs. (laughs)
Rather than feeling frustrated “because there are lots of things I can’t change at the policy level,” she reframed
and looked for what she can do instead:
In my capacity as a teacher, I bring hope to them. I motivate them to be better learners, not just good
citizens … learn and think better. What I teach my Express classes, I teach my NA classes. They have9Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chua

the right to learn the same things. I try to fight the system in that way… So I just institute and initiatechange on my level and implement within my own capacity.
Unlike many Social Studies teachers who tried to simplify the learning for weaker students, for example,
by getting them to copy notes or follow routinized steps, in the lessons observed, May refused to “spoonfeed
them…” Instead, she challenged them to “learn to think and reason for themselves.” She expected the same
rigour from the students in the so-called less able classes, even though it sometimes took more scaffolding toelicit responses from these students. “I don’t dumb down the lesson just because they are NA…I still get themto discuss, reason, and justify their answers to the class. These are life skills.” She explained that she cannot“further disadvantage these students…when the system is already not in their favour,” she said, “It’s the least I
can do to mitigate the unfair labelling of the students that will affect them for life.”
Among the teachers, Mike stood out for consciously avoiding bringing up issues of controversy in
Singapore. In the classroom, he was careful to avoid discussing inequity in the Singaporean situation, preferring
to present case studies from other countries for discussion, saying: “To be honest, I do not use Singaporean
examples, I tend to use examples from overseas. Like what we did recently about the French policy ofassimilation, is it really fair that you can’t do this, you can’t do that, what would the situation be like if you are
in Singapore.” Thus, although aware and sensitive to systemic problems in Singapore, Mike did not feel hecould bring these issues to his classroom.

(ii) Engaging in the wider community
While all seven teachers were generally enthusiastic and committed in bringing ideas of social justiceto their students, particularly through deep discussions, they were more wary of being change agents in the wider
community. On the whole, minority-race teachers were more likely to participate in social action andcommunity activities, in mostly race or religion-oriented ways. For example, Aisyah, with a group of Malay
women professionals, pioneered a Muslim women’s group called ‘Soul Sisters’ three years ago, which served
as “a platform to assert our authority and ideas as Malay women.” For Aisyah, engaging in social action was a
way to change society’s prejudice against Malayness and women. She shared, “Being a Malay woman wearinga hijab, it’s like some kind of hindrance. When we share our thoughts and views, people have the perception
like, oh, you mean you can actually do something intellectual….”
Aisyah felt that although her actions were not “big”, she was still “rocking the boat… making somewaves” in good ways. She explained, “Me rocking the boat doesn’t mean that it is negative, it can be positive,
an improvement, an enhancement of certain values.” Lately, due to work commitments, Aisyah has not been
participating in ‘Soul Sisters,’ but continues to bring this cause into her work, where she challenges her students’negative perceptions of “the Malay woman teacher.” She explained:
I find a need to assert my Malay identity when I’m teaching. Social studies class is the best platform forme to discuss ethnicity and race. You know, the need for students to understand the idea of majority
privilege and how the minorities would feel.
Similarly, Adila conducted reading activities and tuition for MENDAKI, the Malay-Muslim
community group, while in university. During this time, she also worked as a relief teacher. She related, “Those
were difficult times … people talk about it, but I went through it. … I am better equipped to talk about issues,
think about them, and reach out.” Shaiful, meanwhile, also felt impelled to volunteer, because he was from “atypical middle class family and went to good schools.” He said, “A lot of my adolescent interaction was within

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The Journal of Social Studies Education in Asiaa certain sphere of influence, a certain social class.” Thus, he chose to leave his “family comfort zone” and live
in a smaller flat in a lower-income neighbourhood, where he volunteered with the Residents’ Committee (RC),helping those “who need financial assistance, explaining government policies to the old folks, writing letters ofappeal for utilities etc.” This, he said, “keeps me grounded as I see for myself how lives are affected by policies… it is not just abstract … it also helps me as a teacher.”
Other teachers, and two were from the majority Chinese ethnicity, were not keen on advocating forsocial change, or even participating in social cause activities, for different reasons. Michelle said,
I am a person who works around part of the system that may not work. And I haven’t found a causethat I am passionate enough about … that I will sacrifice time and effort for. I will never sign a petition
unless I believe in it completely.
She elaborated,
I don’t think we are at that state where there must be a big fight. We are in this flux where it’s not too
bad or too good. I think I would be more proactive if it was very bad.
Ironically, Michelle also decried the state of passive citizenship in Singapore, saying “The lack of a civic society
here is scary. … the lack of a civic voice scares me to death.”
May, meanwhile, had ideas of balance and harmony, of doing good in what she perceived as her roleand space: “It is attributed to my religious belief. Being Buddhist, I want to find contentment in all that I do…”
She avoids conflicts, preferring to retreat to her own space and do what she can within her sphere of influence:“A good citizen needs to put the interest of the group and nation first. There’s really nothing very wrong in theexisting system that you have to really step out to be a hero.” She explained further, with a tinge of cynicism, “I
don’t need to participate in politics to make my voice heard. Anyway, it won’t be heard. I might as well change
the students’ life than go and change the system.” May also alluded to another reason for not working towards
transforming inequalities outside the classroom. She explained, “I wouldn’t want to be arrested for saying thewrong things. Yah. I mean since young we know that we have to be very careful with the way we talk.”
Mike was the only minority teacher in this study who was not involved in any social action. He broughtup the issue of gay persons and Section 377A in this way:
There is no need to be political. I would go to Pink Dot3, I would assist, but I wouldn’t go to the stageof becoming a gay rights activist. I will give you as much support as I can, but we also understand thatthe situation is like that … don’t come to the extent when you rock the boat. … You rock the boat, you
end up worse.
Among all the teachers, one teacher stood out for actively trying to create change, both in the classroom
and wider community. A teacher of 26 years, Maria, Chinese in ethnicity but married to a Eurasian husband,
uses her political knowledge and her sense of responsibility to participate as a citizen-teacher in ways that she
feels are right. Maria said that she believes strongly in the National Pledge, in particular, the phrase “regardlessof race, language or religion,” which she regards as the cornerstone of equality and justice. Previously, she would
write in to the Today newspaper whenever she came across social issues that she felt deserved discussion andthought. “It is also a way to encourage my Social Studies students to read newspapers, to engage with whateveris happening here… also inspire them to write in themselves.” In 2011, Maria wrote a newspaper commentary
over an incident known as the “curry incident,” which centred on issues of integrating new migrants and local
culture. Subsequently the incident gained much media attention and discussion in the community. Maria11

Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chua

believes that as a citizen she should speak up and question things “especially when unjust,” although in the
Singaporean context, asking questions can land one in trouble. “You ask questions then you get yourself into
trouble then your head kena4 chopped very badly, until minced. That is the consequence of asking questions.”
Her questioning of school policies has led to censures from her principal, as well as setting of boundaries ofwhat she can bring up during teachers’ weekly meetings. Such silencing is difficult. She said: “I need to protect
my rice bowl also, you know. I didn’t give up my criticality. It’s just that now my audience is much more limited.”
Maria affirmed that with her students, she is still as questioning and critical, saying, “If I can produce one or two
critical thinkers out of a cohort of 200, I think I have … succeeded.”

Discussion
In this study, we use the lens of reflexivity to understand how teachers who are more sensitive to thedemocratic ideals of citizenship enact their roles as citizens and teachers in Singapore. We had selected teachers
who showed awareness of multicultural diversity and systemic inequalities in society and examined theirmotivations and whether they themselves personally participated in social action. The reflexivity concept helps
us analyze how far each teacher is in his/her quest towards social justice and showed differences in how criticalreflexivity pushes each of them into social action, or not, as the case may be. In the section below, we discuss
the inspirations behind each teacher’s socio-cultural and political awareness, as well as the impetus for action or
inaction for every teacher.

“Felt” Difficulties and Strong Emotions Motivate Action
Teachers in this study spoke of their lived experience, as citizens and as teachers, and how specificincidents pushed them into growth. These experiences were often personal and sometimes occurred in theprofessional workspace. They were difficult situations, imbued with feelings of anger, sadness, fear, andconfusion. As Dewey (1997) has asserted, deep and critical thinking can only occur when we are confronted
with a “felt difficulty” (p. 72). For these teachers, “felt difficult[ies]” has propelled them to examine the situation
closely and make sense of it. The strong emotions acted as a motivating force for adjusting their worldviewsand effect a change in perspective or attitude. This aligns with transformative literature that asserts that difficultand disorientating experiences, and the accompanying emotions, move one towards a stance of criticalreflexivity (D’Cruz et al., 2007; Trevelyan et al., 2014; Zembylas, 2003). Transformations affected not just theself, but in several cases, also the communities in which these teachers lived and worked. For example, Adila’s
experience of being unable to apply for financial aid as a student due to a race-based policy made her angry andupset. But these emotions sensitized her to the inequalities in the system, inspiring her to discuss racism in herclassroom, pushing her students to look beyond the taken-for-granted veneer of harmonious relations, andscrutinize their own attitudes towards issues of race. Aisyah, meanwhile, had observed that being Malay wasoften perceived as being of lower status and had also experienced hurtful discrimination as a teacher. She madea conscious decision to assert her Malay identity, as an act of resistance against negative perceptions of her race.

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Passive Reflexivity: No Rocking the Boat
Yet other teachers preferred to keep quiet, even as they were aware of systemic problems in society.
Consciously or unconsciously, they did not wish to take social action, thus staying at the level of passivereflexivity. Mike presented a classic case of inaction. He is happy where he is, in his position of privilege, andbelieves that to question assumptions and practices would be “rocking the boat.” Michelle expressed it lessovertly, saying that she would act only if a cause was worthy of action. May, meanwhile, substituted social
action with her classroom teaching, believing her teaching to be the best way to affect change in her community,
through influencing her students to think critically, and in the future, push for change.
Picower’s (2015) tools of inaction – substitution, postponement, displacement and dismissal - can help
explain these teachers’ reluctance to confront inequalities. But their reasons for inaction may go deeper than that.
May’s allusion to the possibility of arrest “for saying the wrong thing” may seem extreme, but fear of being
penalized by the authorities is a strong deterrent in Singapore (Ho, 2010). Under the Sedition Act in Singapore,
it is seditious to “raise discontent or disaffection” or “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different
races or classes of the population” ("Sedition Act (Chapter 290)," 2018), and offenders can be prosecuted. The
government considers this law necessary to preserve racial and religious harmony in Singapore; however, it isuncertain what exactly constitutes seditious content and where the limits of acceptability are (Neo, 2011).
Additionally, teachers as civil servants are expected to abide by a code of conduct (PS21 Office, 2004), which
includes rules like not publicly commenting on any topic that is potentially controversial or nationally sensitive.
Even Maria, the most courageous among the teachers, after repeated sanctioning by her superiors has resorted
to reducing the scale of her social action and seeking a smaller audience. Hence, we would like to add to
Picower’s tools of inaction, another tool, the tool of self-protection. This tool points to teachers’ vulnerability inthe face of certain constraints. Our findings have showed that teachers’ inaction may not be owing to a lack ofwillpower or self-centeredness. Rather, they have carefully assessed and understood the situation and chosen
an in-between route to protect themselves. While this situation may apply specifically to Singapore’s context, it
does not apply uniquely, as teachers in the US have also been sanctioned for bringing a critical point of view totheir classrooms (Westheimer, 2006). However, we note that culturally, teachers in Singapore may also strive
towards less confrontational and more relational ways of action, in keeping with the Asian context (Lee, 2012).

Nuances in the Reflexivity Concept
By examining teachers using the reflexivity lens, we see that they fall along a continuum of propensities
toward the social justice orientation. These teachers had well developed understandings of inequalities in
Singapore. They believed in the principles of justice and equality. However, the inclination to act according totheir beliefs and challenge social injustices varied greatly. Non-critical reflexivity was seen in Mike, who whileaware of systemic issues in Singapore, was at this point disinclined to take any action, and hesitant to challenge
his students to think more critically about issues around them. At the other end of the reflexivity spectrum, Maria
often critiqued the status quo within her community, and pushed her students to think and discuss cases ofcontroversy. The other four teachers can be placed along the reflexivity continuum according to their social
justice beliefs and propensities for action. By using their lived experiences, teachers like Maria, Shaiful, Adila,13

Malathy Krishnasamy, Jasmine B.-Y. Sim, and Shuyi Chuaand Aisyah addressed problematic social hierarchies, each in their own way, and carried forward their criticalreflexivities to their teaching, engaging their students in questioning accepted ways of thinking and behaving.
Three of the minority-race teachers, namely Adila, Aisyah and Shaiful, also spoke about one-on-one interactions
with others as the way to affect change – through small and personal acts of engagement. Yet others such as
Michelle and May focused on promoting social justice ideas through their classroom teaching alone. We also
believe that critical reflexivity is dynamic and growth-oriented; Mike may one day move out of his comfort
zone and consider social change.
Social action in the community is often considered to be visible forms of activism such as “organizing,marching, rallying, protesting, and occupying” (Hytten, 2016, p. 991). This study showed that social actions
could be smaller, less visible and more individual – but no less powerful. Such actions can ripple through thecommunity and effect social change, and they need not be provocative. For example, Shaiful’s act of choosing
to live in a lower-income area and volunteer with the RC enables him to work directly with people in his
community. This way he lives up to his purpose of “always having an ongoing conversation, while acceptingthat not everyone is ready for change.” Likewise, Adila’s willingness to engage with people, including her
students, and discuss matters of race or religion allows for social change “through overcoming labels, whateverlabels, attached to one another.” Such nuanced actions broaden and give depth to the social justice conception
offered by Westheimer and Kahne (2004). We come to understand that critical reflexivity is personal andindividual, and that it can advance the cause of social justice in a range of transformative ways, both in theclassroom and wider community. Perhaps in contexts like Singapore that are conservative, a way to inculcate
critical reflexivity and to act for social change, can be through individual journeys that are not so much “activist”
as “personally transformative,” with these transformations causing ripples of change in the community. The
practice of currere can be such a way.

Currere as a Means to Develop Critical Reflexivity
Dewey (1963) wrote that education is a social process and that “development of experience comesthrough interaction” (p. 58). As such the lived experience of teachers - both as citizens in the community and asteachers in classrooms - are rich sites of meaning and potential for transformation and growth. By seeking
meaning of the self through lived experience, the curriculum can be “truly experienced, enacted, andreconstructed” (Meier, 2016, p. 159). We suggest Pinar’s method of currere as a way for teachers to become
more attuned with their past, present, and future selves, and reflexively chart a way forward as teacherpractitioners. Although none of our teachers consciously used currere, each of them examined their past selves
and future motivations in their quest towards personal and professional growth. Currere’s regressive stage
allows for the individual to work through intellectual and emotional difficulties “to reconstruct one’s relationshipwith oneself and the world” (Wang, 2010, p. 278). In our study, Aisyah examined her experiences of injusticeand brought up memories of hurt and anger. Critical examination of these situations enabled her to imagine
ways of being “equally Malay, Singaporean, and a smart modern woman.” She consciously decided to assert
her Malayness, and through that, resist stereotypical notions of race in society. Such currere-like analysis of pastexperiences and agency in subtly transforming her identity makes for both personal and social change. We
suggest that teacher education programs include currere as a way to engage teachers for personal and

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professional growth. Teachers may then start to examine their personal and professional realities, and move
forward on transformative journeys (Greene, 1978).

Conclusions
In this study, we scrutinized the citizenship conceptions of social studies teachers who identified as being
critically reflexive, to reveal the various influences, lived experiences, and contexts of the teachers. As a group,
they generally possessed attributes of good self-awareness, deep political knowledge, and sensitive
understanding of the societal structures embedded in their educational settings and the wider society. We foundthat this group of teachers were generally motivated by felt difficulties and strong emotions to make a personal
and positive impact in their classrooms, and for some of them beyond the classroom. However, this impact issmall and subtle, mostly because of the more conservative national climate. These acts of manoeuvring in thelimited spaces that teachers felt safe to do so, however, does not discount the courage and the possible future
impact of their guarded agency.
Citizenship conceptions can differ according to contextual factors. In a conservative and post-colonial
Asian context such as Singapore’s, agency and social change may occur through actions at a personal, lessvisible level than is cited in literature based on Western models of citizenship. There is a strong need to develop
understandings of citizenship conceptions in Asian societies, which are diverse in terms of political, social andeconomic contexts. Contextual differences also extend to the social studies curriculum, which is the main
vehicle for inculcating citizenship values in a nation’s young citizens. The beliefs and attitudes of social studies
teachers influence how the curriculum is taught to their students. Curriculum, as Cornbleth (1990) said, must be
seen in context. Towards that end, this study has also provided some insights on how the social studies
curriculum is enacted in a specific Asian context. More work needs to be done towards building an evidencebase of citizenship education practices and their associated meanings through social studies in the Asian context.

Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Education Research Funding Programme, National Institute of Education(NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, project no. OER 10/14 JS. The views expressedin this paper are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the views of NIE. The authors thank Agnes
Paculdar for the terms “guarded agency” and “manoeuvring in limited spaces.”

Notes
1. HDB flat stands for Housing Development Board flat, which is public housing in Singapore.
2. In Singapore secondary schools, students are sorted into three main streams - the Express, the Normal(Academic), and the Normal (Technical) - according to student abilities.
3. Pink Dot is an annual event held in support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)
community in Singapore.
4. Singapore slang derived from Malay that means to have an unpleasant situation befall one.

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