1. By looking at one of Dr Quek's Master student's Naturalistic Inquiry Research on 3 Secondary Schools, I have a good grasp and appreciation on the interface and interaction between the School Learning Environment Inventory (SLEI) and Moo's 3 scheme, that is, Relationship, Personal development, System maintenance & system change. My reflections & thoughts are as follows:
a. To ensure the consistency & reliability of the study, the researcher had kept 2 parameters constant when he selected the schools for study. They were schools found in the neighbourhood and majority of the students came from HDB 1-3 rooms flat and with white-collared parents.
b. Looking at the report and analysis of the study, the Relationship and Personal Development dimensions reflected a positive and favourable climate in all the 3 schools. However, the researcher drew varied observations and analysis on the System Maintenance & system change from the 3 schools. Some of my own deductions are summarised in para 2. One pertinent improvement to the overall study would be to include the students and even their parents' perceptions and comments. This will enable the researcher to consolidate and present a more holistic perspectives of the school climates.
2. Structure drives behaviour (Systems Thinking) - Singapore is a fast-paced and result-oriented society. As human is the only natural resources in Singapore, most Singaporeans value education and pragmatism. Specifically, such culture and value systems has inevitably driven all stakeholders in the educational field (principals, teachers, students and parents) on the constant quest for achievements and glory. As the saying goes, life is a balancing act. Any venture or desire that is being pursued to the extremes will turn disaster. The constant quest for success, achievements and glory has no doubt enabled Singapore in achieving an Education Hub, as well as, gain recognition at the global level. However, as parents and stakeholders, we must be discerned to pull back and retreat before we fall into the bottom-less pit, just like Japan, China and Korea. Details on Peter Senge's Systems Thinking can be found in this URL: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm
3. Lastly, the demonstration and several useful websites and functions being introduced by James Peh have also enlightened me tremendously. I am all "fire" and ready to venture into the e-environment more readily now. Kudos to both Dr Quek and James. His recommendations are as follows:
a. http://www.wetpaint.com/ - To create free WIKI websites
b. http://www.technocratic.com/ - To search for bloggers of interest
c. http://www.firefox.com/ - Save its "Download helper" to download videos from U-tube
d. http://www.tudou.com/ - To download Chinese entertainments such as movies and MTV videos
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