Yang Si Lin, Ang Swee Choon, Ong Soon Seng

Abstract

The focus of education in the 21st century emphasize on the development of "skills" and practical application abilities, which are different from the traditional focus on the inculcation of knowledge and values. The traditional in-service teacher training courses places emphasis on teacher's personal literacy ability, rather than on their teaching strategies. The traditional in-service teacher training courses are not specifically designed to meet the teaching needs of front-line teachers. These courses are not able to cater to the fast-changIng and dynamic needs of the new environment in the 21st century. Thus, the traditional concepts, frameworks and curriculum design of the in-service training courses are not able to meet the needs or skills required by teachers. Therefore, the traditional in-service training would not be able to effectively as well as efficiently correspond to the needs in the 21st century so as to enable students to acquire the essential knowledge and skills. Effective in-service training courses should be fundamental, developmental and personalized in nature. Training institutions are required to conduct structured and systematic courses, to equip the teachers with the essential knowledge and skills, which thereby increase the professional competency. Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) was established in 2008 to provide in-service training courses to frontline teachers. Through the provision of quality training, SCCL hopes to enhance the teaching literacy, competency and professionalism of Chinese language teachers. This paper focuses on the goals and challenges of the Singapore education system in the 21st century. Mission and vision, framework of the in-service training courses, evaluation of courses and the future developmental direction of Singapore Centre for Chinese Language will also be analyzed in this paper.

Keyword(s) :   in service teacher training courses, concept, practice