Citizenship and Character Education

“Towards Academic and Character Excellence” is the vision of Dunearn Secondary School. Each member of staff has been actively involved in shaping this Vision and accompanying Mission since 2006. Central to Character Development are Core Values (Integrity, Responsibility and Compassion) which are regularly articulated to the stakeholders and incorporated into the various character education programmes.

To fulfil this Vision, the school is driven by 4 strategic thrusts, of which Thrust 1 refers to the holistic character development of each pupil and encompasses short term goals and operational strategies that are monitored regularly. This is illustrated in the School Holistic Development Framework as shown here:

As illustrated, the CCE Department plays a major role in steering the school towards building a culture of Citizenship Education and Character Development. It is the department’s mission to (1) remove all barriers to learning, (2) build strong sense of citizenship and sound character, and (3) set clear education and career outcomes.

Citizenship

Developing a strong national identity among students has always been the focus of our National Education (NE) Programmes. The school’s NE framework is implemented through the infusion of NE into the curriculum and the commemoration of major events like Total Defence Day, Racial Harmony Day, International Friendship Day and National Day.

Below are some examples of ongoing programs and events that were organised this year:

• Total Defence Day
• International Friendship Day
• Tea session for the International Students and parents/guardians
• Compulsory Learning Journey Visit to the Parliament for S3(E&N) in Term 1&2 to learn more about the aspects of citizenship and governance (part of Social Studies syllabus)
• Incorporation of NE in the Student Leadership Training in Term 1 to prepare for the end-of-year student-led Battlefield Tour.
• Thematic monthly NE noticeboard which highlights pupils work
• Compulsory NE Quiz for the graduating classes (4E and 4N)
• Biennial NE Study for selected Upper and Lower Secondary students
• Other activities by departments (e.g Conversational MT lessons, Cultural Camp, Environment Club activities, Community Involvement Activities at organisations such as Bukit Batok Home for the Aged, Dover Park Hospice and Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled)

Character Education

The figure below summarizes the initiatives that target all students, as well as programs that are customised for specific groups of students.

To mention a few of the above areas, the CCE Department has revamped the Values Education(VE) package which now comprises of four main strategic components: Social and Emotional Learning(SEL), Sexuality Education(SEd), Cyberwellness and Lifeskills, which includes Education & Career Guidance(ECG). The existing Civics and Moral Education(CME) lessons that are taught by the form teachers include the explicit teaching of values.

CCE has also been infused into classroom lessons across a variety of subjects. Measures are also undertaken to provide greater support for teachers, such as the expansion of the range of CCE resources available and the provision of training on pedaqogical approaches and classroom strategies regarding the teaching and learning of values.

Community Involvement Programme is designed to be differentiated with the Sec 1 students doing activities related to Environmental Awareness; Sec 2, Community Awareness (children and senior citizens) ; Sec 3, Fund-raising and Service Learning; Sec 4/5, Community Awareness (special needs). Some of the ongoing partners the school works with include South View Primary School, Dover Hospice, Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled and Missionaries of Charity in the Philippines. Post CIP activities and reflections are planned to suit the level of maturity students are at.

Of special mention here would be the integration of Overseas Service Learning (OSL) with the initiative known as Enhanced Merit Point System (EMPS) that was piloted in 2010 and scaled up to the entire school in 2011. The EMPS is a tool to monitor and provide weekly feedback to encourage deliberate actions that will form into good study and behavioural habits. Students are rewarded in a meaningful manner that comes full circle to our school vision.

Dunearn Secondary School is the only school to have a Learning Mentor who works very closely with the Discipline and Pastoral Care Department to provide the support for student development. The school has strengthened this Learning Mentorship Programme for at-risk students to include initiatives such as development of staff for pastoral support for students.

The A2E (apathy to empathy) Time Out Programme for selected at-risk Sec 1/2 pupils is  further refined this year to ensure close collaboration between the vendor and the teachers who co-run the program. The students’ learning during the program has been encouraging. The essential follow-up efforts by teachers are yielding results for some of the students. This is evident in the observed positive changes in their behaviour and academic results.

To develop self-discipline, the department works closely with the Discipline department to identify and develop key SEL competencies in our pupils. The Teacher-Pupil Relational Time (PTRT) is one of the strategies the school has adopted to prevent misbehaviour. The PTRT is a structured programme where both the pupils and their Form teachers could meet on a one-on-one basis to talk and discuss issues. Through the conversations, teachers will be able to better understand their pupils and their challenges and hence, providing timely intervention. Concurrent with the PTRT, the school has a school-wide values talk session where students are required to do a written reflection after every talk which is spear-headed by the CCE department.