Representative Research Projects

Aims: International research finds Twenty-first Century Skills (21 CS) important to human capital, health, and school success. Determining how 21 CS's (e.g., emotional regulation, communication, perspective taking, planning, and flexibility) develop within Singapore's unique linguistic and cultural milieu can inform science and policy to help Singaporean families.

Methodology: Recruitment of roughly 980 children from the Bedok and Punggol polyclinics will occur over 2 years. Children and their families will participate in a cross-sequential study, which is similar to a longitudinal study but with differing points of entry to minimize cohort effects. Recruitment will follow the health booklet schedule with children entering the study at one of four designated time points (4-5 months, 5-7 months, 16-19 months, or 34-38 months). Depending on the age of study entry children will take part in 2-8 clinic visits, with the last clinic visit occurring when children are 4 years of age. A combination of questionnaires, eye tracking, video recordings, and direct testing will be used to assess child development and environmental influences upon its growth. Importance of proposed research to science or medicine: By school entry children already display individual differences in 21 CS, and these early life differences may predict later mental health, educational success, well-being, and even physical health. Better understanding the development of individual differences within the local context will enable the creating of more targeted and cost-effective prevention and intervention programs at appropriate stages of early development.

One current strategic priority of the Ministry of Education (MOE) is a focus on preschool educational provision with MOE and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) forming an implementation committee to formulate and oversee strategies to enhance preschool education. This includes changes to preschool teacher training, changes to the preschool curriculum, and the set-up of government pilot kindergartens. As young children in Singapore are spending a large proportion of their time in preschools, it has become increasingly important to determine how they are affected by their experiences in preschool. In this study, we focus on the nature and impact of teacher-child interactions. We will also examine the organizational and structural aspects of preschool to arrive at an overall measure of the quality of the children's pedagogical experiences. Our main aim is to examine how pedagogical experiences, together with home support and the children's cognitive capabilities, influence children's school readiness and performance in later schooling. Specifically, we will focus on their impact on the development of children's mathematical, language, and socio-emotional competencies. We aim to recruit 1500 children from approximately 75 preschools (including the newly established MOE kindergartens). Our recruitment will also target preschools that vary in terms of time spent on Mother Tongue (MT) lessons, with the aim of addressing policy questions regarding the factors that lead to better language and literacy development in both English and MT languages (time spent on MT, quality of the teacher-child interaction, home language environment). On entry to K1, children, parents, and teachers will complete a battery of measures to assess the child's numeracy and literacy skills, self-regulation, and socio-emotional skills. We will also gather information about the child's home environment and teacher's professional demographics. We will then conduct classroom observations using the CLASS and other observational tools to examine the quality of teacher-child interaction and the kindergarten environment. The child outcome battery will be readministered at the end of K1. This initial year of data collection will allow us to conduct an analysis comparing the pedagogical experiences of children in different preschool settings and will assist our MOE colleagues in documenting pedagogical experiences in the new MOE kindergartens, and how these impact on child outcomes. A second round of classrooms observations will be conducted in K2, with the child outcome battery completed for a third time at the end of K2, and for the final time at entry to primary school. To address our research questions, we will model our longitudinal data using latent growth curve models and structural equation models. Results from the study will be disseminated to educators at NIE to allow changes to be made to current courses about early years education and child development. Phase 1 of the project (May 2014 to June 2020), which involves primary data collection and analysis has been completed. Phase 2 of the project (July 2020 to Dec 2023), which involves secondary data analysis is currently ongoing.

Children with higher mathematics scores at 7 years of age tend to command a higher salary as adults and experience better psychological and health outcomes. Despite the importance of mathematical skills, there are gaps in (a) our knowledge regarding the early predictors of later mathematical success, and (b) how to help pre-schoolers build solid foundations for mathematics learning. These issues will be examined in three interconnected projects. Using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques, in Project 1, we will examine the neuroanatomical correlates of numeracy development from 4.5 to 6.5 years of age with a view towards identifying markers that will predict mathematics learning difficulties. Such markers will also be used to understand differences in rates of growth in numeracy skill and in responses to intervention. A domain-general cognitive capability that has consistently predicted mathematical achievement is our ability to process and remember information simultaneously: working memory. Studies have shown that even amongst pre-schoolers, working memory and mathematical achievement exhibit variation across socio-economic strata. However, the processes that underlie these relations are unclear. In Project 2, we examine candidate processes related to parenting quality and examine how variation across socio-economic strata influences growth in working memory and numeracy. Using a cross-sequential longitudinal design, we will supplement efforts from an on-going study. Capitalising on findings from the other two projects, in Project 3, we will design a computerised working memory and numeracy intervention protocol for pre-schoolers. Using a randomised controlled design with an immediate and delayed evaluation, we will collect both behavioural and neuroimaging data; first to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention, but also to identify the characteristics of children who exhibit different patterns of response to intervention.

Background: Transitions, whilst being a part of life, are a challenge, particularly for young children with special educational needs (SEN). Research describing factors affecting the outcomes of transition is limited and the contextual conditions of education in Singapore further limit the transferability of such findings. The recently announced incorporation of children with SEN within the Compulsory Education Act heightens the need for research into transition outcomes of children with SEN.

Aims: This proposed longitudinal study seeks to (a) understand the outcomes of children with SEN as they transition into primary or special education and to (b) understand the factors which influence the first three years of outcomes of children with SEN into primary or special education.

Method: This multiple cohort prospective study adopts a mixed design. It seeks to recruit 400 children with SEN building upon an ongoing study of young children with SEN attending early intervention programs in Singapore. The outcomes of these children will be examined via child testing at yearly intervals via a battery of assessment activities involving standardized tests and surveys. The information from child assessment will be augmented by surveys completed by parents and school personnel (e.g., teachers, allied educators, or counsellors). Additionally, parents and school personnel supporting 80 children will be purposefully sampled. This subsample would be interviewed annually to shed light on the perceptions and complexities of transition and subsequent adjustment process.

Contributions: It is expected that this study would yield insights into the profile and needs of children with SEN accessing both primary and special education in Singapore leading to more accurate educational support. Furthermore, the characteristics of children with SEN who make successful and unsuccessful transitions allowing the development of evidence informed recommendations that can guide the choice of school placements for children with SEN in Singapore.

We plan to submit the programmatic research proposal entitled 'Growth in Bilingual and Biliteracy Proficiency: Environmental, Individual and Experiential Factors (GIBBER)'. This has three main research objectives. First, we plan to capture the developmental trajectories of Singaporean children's English Language (EL) and Mother Tongue Language (MTL) proficiency from Kindergarten 1 to Primary school 4 and develop assessment tools to gauge EL and MTL proficiency. We consider proficiency to include a comprehensive range of language skills, of both oral and written form. Second, we aim to identify individual differences that can account for the variability observed in children's bilingual/biliteracy development. Third, we intend to evaluate interventions to effectively support Singaporean children's bilingual and biliteracy development. These objectives will be reached through seven subprojects that will investigate the environmental, individual and experiential factors involved in bilingual and biliteracy proficiency growth in Singaporean pre- and primary school children. The findings of this project will be able to inform bilingual policy, programmes and practices in Singapore and contribute to the research field of child bilingualism at an international level.

Touchscreen devices have been widely used by 1-7 years old children at home in Singapore (Ebbeck, Yim, Chan, & Goh, 2016), however, little is known about the efficacy of the educational Apps for children's early intellectual development. An eBook App has the potential to increase children's reading amount as it provides easy access to books and facilitates reading comprehension and motivation with multimedia features (Smith 2001). Moreover, the eBook App could be taken as a platform to offer parents literacy tips to enhance their cognitive, affective, and technical scaffolding during joint reading with their children. The better scaffolding may in turn facilitate children's early language and literacy development (Segal- Drori, Shamir, & Klein, 2010). The eBook Apps may have a particular social relevance to Singaporean children's mother tongue language learning. Although children are encouraged to develop their mother tongue languages (MLT) and their English simultaneously in Singapore (Ministry of Education, 2013), recent years have witnessed a discrepancy between English and MTL. The English learning environment is substantially richer than that of ethnic languages in terms of input quantity (e.g., the amount of media exposure), input quality (e.g., the number of books at home) and output (e.g., children's total years of speaking the language). (Sun, Yin, Amsah, & O'Brien, 2018). Given the importance of the home setting for preschoolers' MTL development (Sun et al., 2018; Sun, Ng, Fritzsche & O'Brien, forthcoming) and the potential benefits of using eBook App at home, the current study intends to examine the effects of a popular Mandarin eBook App among Singaporean children for its influence on children's reading input quantity, quality, and learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is three-fold. We intend to explore: 1) whether the eBook App would promote children's total reading amount at home; 2) whether the scaffolding tips on literacy, cognitive, affective, and technic scaffolding improve the quality of parents' interaction while conducting shared book reading; and 3) whether the eBook App and literacy tips promote children's emergent language and literacy outcomes. 20 preschoolers will be recruited for the pilot study to examine the appropriateness of the App, the book titles, and the parental scaffolding tips. 240 preschoolers (4-5 years old) will be randomly assigned into four reading conditions at home: 1) with eBook App and parental tips, 2) with eBook App only, 3) with paper books and parental tips (control condition 1), and 4) with paper books only (control condition 2). 80 mandarin picture books will be provided via the App to the families in Group 1 and Group 2 over one year. The equivalent paper books will be provided to the families in the control groups. The 240 families will be followed for 14 months in total, to be tested, videoed recorded, and surveyed every 6 months. The outcomes will be parental-child interactions and children's Mandarin skills, namely vocabulary, storytelling and comprehension, and Chinese character recognition. The current study has strong social relevance. The findings will inform us about the efficacy of eBook App on MTL development and the types of literacy tips we should provide to parents and early educators for better scaffolding children during joint reading. Moreover, it will provide schools and policymakers insights into whether or not to promote such literacy learning devices. Furthermore, it will offer suggestions to eBook App designers to improve their products and optimize the learning result for the children.

Understanding one's own or other's emotions is a fundamental skill in children's life. Studies in Western cultures have shown that children's emotion understanding predicts their prosocial behaviors, social competence, academic achievement, and so forth (Denham, et al., 2003; Izard et al., 2001; Rhoades, Warren, Domitrovich, & Greenberg, 2011). However, little is known regarding the development of Singaporean children's emotion understanding or its relations to their developmental outcomes. This project aims to examine Singaporean children's emotion understanding from different approaches and its relations to anxiety and academic achievement. Understanding these relations could provide avenues for understanding the mechanisms and identifying individuals at risk for socioemotional and school difficulties. People from varied cultural backgrounds differ in their attention to particular aspects of emotional cues. Whereas semantic content explicitly expresses feelings, vocal tone and facial expression convey relatively implicit information regarding emotions. European Americans tend to communicate emotions more directly through verbal content, while Asians' emotion communication tend to be more indirect and implicit. European Americans paid more attention to emotional cues from verbal content, whereas Asians were better at understanding emotional cues from contextual information such as vocal tones (Ishii, Reyes, & Kitayama, 2003). Our own prior work indicated that school-aged children had learned to be sensitive to the culturally significant emotional cues. Chinese children recognized emotions from vocal tones more accurately and quickly than American children who performed better on recognizing emotions from verbal content (Yang, Wang, & Wang, under review). Are Singaporean children more sensitive to vocal tones and facial expression than verbal content? On the one hand, Singaporean cultures are influenced by Western cultures. On the other hand, Singaporeans remain their habits and traditions of their original cultures in their daily routine and hold traditional values to a great extent. We will examine their ability to detect emotional cues from both facial expressions and auditory stimuli using two computer tasks. Children's emotion understanding is a crucial core of social awareness within broader socioemotional competence (Denham et al., 2003). Particularly, children's anxiety level is negatively associated with their emotion understanding (Trentacosta & Fine, 2010). Understanding emotions can help children communicate their own feelings and predict others' feelings and behaviors. Therefore, emotion understanding plays an important role in relationship maintenance and emotion regulation. Poor emotion understanding in social situations may trigger inappropriate responses and in turn may lead to increased social difficulties and anxiety level (Fine, Izard, Mostow, Trentacosta, & Ackerman, 2003). On the other hand, attention bias to negative emotions is positively related to anxiety. Children with anxiety disorders were more sensitive to negative emotional cues (Manassis & Young, 2000). Additionally, emotion understanding predicts children's academic achievement. Children with greater emotion understanding were rated more prosocial by their teachers and more liked by their peers. Therefore, emotion understanding might facilitate effective learning interactions, thus promoted academic achievement (Rhoades et al., 2011). This study will inform us Singaporean children's emotion understanding, and whether it's related to anxiety and academic achievement. It is especially critical to identify the factors affecting child anxiety and academic achievement in Singapore, given the high level of anxiety and the emphasis on academic achievements. The findings of this project would shed light on intervention programs for improving children's emotional wellbeing and academic achievement in Singapore.

Variations in early caregiver-child conversations have been shown to predict multiple aspects of school performance (Connell & Prinz, 2002; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015; Leven & Long, 1981; Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga, 2016; Sarsour et al., 2011). One practice often associated with high-quality caregiver-child conversations is questioning (Bornstein et al., 1992; McKeown & Beck, 2003; Snow et al., 1976). In particular, the PI and his colleagues have identified 'pedagogical questioning' that aims to teach, which differs from other types of questioning that aims to request information or make a point (Yu, Bonawitz, & Shafto, in press). They have shown that in a U.S. sample, these pedagogical questions (PQs) are particularly effective in facilitating children's learning and exploration, both in the immediate context where the question was asked (Yu, Landrum, Bonawitz, & Shafto, in press), and when children switched to learn from a new context (Yu, Bonawitz, & Shafto, 2017). Moreover, the frequencies of PQs in caregiver-child conversations differ across the family's socioeconomic status (SES) and cultural background (Yu, Bonawitz, et al., in press). Taken together, these results indicate that individual children's experiences about pedagogical questioning from their caregivers may affect how they learn and explore when facing these questions in school, which has implications for their school readiness and achievement. The proposed project is designed to directly test this hypothesis in the Singapore context. Using a combination of experimental, observational methods and secondary data analyses, we aim to address three objectives: Objective 1: Document the use of PQs in caregiver-child conversations in Singapore, and identify its predicting factors. Using secondary data analysis, we aim to establish a baseline of pedagogical questioning in caregiver-child conversations in Singapore, and analyze how it varies based on the child, the caregiver, the context, and the family environment. Special attention will be given to uniquely Singapore factors, such as the involvement of domestic helpers and grandparents in child-rearing, and multiple languages used in caregiver-child conversations. Objective 2: Examine the immediate effects of PQs on Singaporean children's learning and exploration. Using a lab experiment, we examine how PQs, compared to direct instructions (DIs) and information-seeking questions (ISQs), affect children's learning and exploration of new concepts. Objective 3: Examine the cumulative effects of PQs on Singaporean children's school readiness and achievement. Using a combination of naturalistic observation and lab experiments, we aim to examine whether PQs in caregiver-child conversations can influence children's school readiness and achievement through shaping how they respond to PQs. Ultimately, by understanding how Singaporean caregivers ask and how Singaporean children respond to PQs, we aim to examine whether PQs in caregiver-child conversations could prepare children for inquiry-based learning and discovery when they enter kindergarten or primary school. These findings could then guide intervention programs to promote caregiver-child questioning, such as making physical signs and mobile apps to prompt caregivers to ask location-appropriate questions to their children during everyday activities (successful example see Ridge, Weisberg, Ilgaz, Hirsh-Pasek, & Golinkoff, 2015).

In summary, the first aim of this project focuses on the development of MTL assessment tools to measure oral and reading skills in Nursery, Pre- and Primary school children in Singapore. The second aim of this project complements this through the preparation of existing datasets from the Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP) to address research questions on children's bilingual spelling and writing skills (i.e. through the analysis of data on word/nonword spelling tasks and writing samples), as well as the impact of MTL teacher characteristics and classroom interactions on children's bilingual development (i.e. through the analysis of data on a MTL teacher questionnaire and videos of classroom observations). Finally, the third aim of this project aims to build on the insights obtained on children's bilingual development and provide evidence-based resources for teachers to support children's MTL knowledge through an eBook intervention. In this way the three aims of this project complement each other to contribute towards an evidence-base for teachers and policymakers to better understand and support Singaporean children's bilingual development.

The purpose of this study is to investigate kindergarteners' understanding of whole number and fraction magnitude. In particular, the study focusses on the interplay of symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude processing skills and the acquisition, development, and interrelation of whole number and fraction magnitude. Whilst the past 10-15 years have witnessed the emergence of a highly influential line of research on number magnitude, it is still unknown how symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude processing skills jointly develop (and interact) over the preschool years does acuity in non-symbolic processing boost symbolic processing, or vice versa? It is also unknown how such skills affect the acquisition of fraction knowledge. This is relevant, given that understanding fraction magnitude requires a refinement of the concept of whole number, and children's difficulties with fractions persist into adulthood. Such understanding of fractions is thought to start in the form of non-symbolic fraction understanding early in development, presents persistent difficulties for children and is critical for subsequent math learning (CCSSI, 2010; NCTM, 2000). Longitudinal measures of whole number magnitude processing skills (symbolic and non-symbolic) and fraction magnitude (symbolic and non-symbolic) will afford opportunities to chart how those skills jointly develop, i.e., whether those relations become stronger or weaker over time and affect children's math achievement. A cross-lagged panel design and mediation models will be used to that end. Findings from the current research proposal may provide insights into the appropriateness of early stimulation of fraction magnitude understanding in kindergarteners. Whilst the new MOE kindergarten curriculum (NEL framework) equips teachers with a variety of activities to support the understanding of whole number magnitude (matching, comparing, ordering, and representing numbers in a variety of ways), it lacks activities that stimulate children's understanding of other types of numbers. Critically, one of the most persistent problems for children with mathematical difficulties is solving problems involving fractions (NCTM, 2000).

Leisure reading has been consistently shown to be closely related to children's success during school years and beyond (Iyengar & Ball, 2007; Sullivan & Brown, 2015). Research has also shown that good reading habits can lead to better reading achievement (Clark & De Zoysa, 2011, PIRLS, 2006, 2011, 2016). In light of the proven benefits of leisure reading, language curricula in many education systems, including Singapore, are paying increasing attention to nurture children's love for reading, and large-scale national surveys have been carried out to understand how children practise and perceive reading. The bulk of extant research, however, fail to take account of the potential heterogeneity of participants' language backgrounds, instead focusing exclusively on English or on the schooling language of the research setting (e.g., Loh & Sun, 2018a; National Endowment for the Arts, 2007; Rutherford, Merga, & Singleton, 2018; Zasacka, 2014). Relatively little research has taken a holistic approach to examine bilingual children's reading habits and preferences in their two languages concurrently. Building on an ongoing SUG project, the proposed study aims to conduct a mixed methods study to better understand Singaporean bilingual children's reading habits and preferences in English and their respective Mother Tongue languages. Results from the survey will not only provide important and timely understanding of how bilingual children in Singapore practise leisure reading in their two languages, but also contribute to the knowledge base for designing and evaluating reading programmes as well as tracking down changes in bilingual children's reading habits and preferences.

The purported benefits of mindfulness, particularly in enhancing cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioural self-regulation, has prompted the application of mindfulness-based interventions to many populations and settings around the world, including in children and adolescents, and in school-based, clinical, or community settings. Mindfulness in education in particular has garnered global interest and momentum in the past decade or so. With increasing recognition of the self-regulatory benefits of mindfulness, a growing number of schools worldwide are incorporating mindfulness to support the development of socio-emotional competencies (e.g., self and social awareness; resilience), emotional and behavioral self-regulation (e.g., stress, anxiety, and anger management), and cognitive ability and academic achievement in students. Research with at-risk youths and youths with disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or learning disabilities also suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may help to improve outcomes for certain groups of low progress learners. Although the adoption of mindfulness-based programs/practices in Singapore schools has been slower and less widespread than in some other countries, there is rising interest from stakeholders in understanding how mindfulness can be applied to help with the holistic development of and to improve outcomes in children. A current hurdle pertains to the accessibility of knowledge and resources. Many different mindfulness-based programs are now available, including numerous standardized school-based curricula, non-standardized practices, and online and mobile applications. Questions arise, such as regarding the type of program or practices to implement, conditions for implementation, effective dosage, caveats or contraindications, and target groups and outcomes. Although considerable research had been conducted on mindfulness programs for children, existing research syntheses tend to be summed over variables that may obscure important considerations for educational applications. Furthermore, the influence of mindfulness on a child's developmental outcomes also comes from mindfulness and mindfulness training in their caregivers, such as parents and teachers. Research has demonstrated positive effects of teaching mindfulness to teachers, not just in enhancing teachers' self-care and protecting against burnout, but also their cascading effects on teacher-student interactions and student outcomes from as early as preschool. Though relatively less examined, the field is also starting to pay attention to the role of school leaders and parents in the success of mindfulness-based interventions on child outcomes. Although there has been considerable research in the past several decades evaluating aspects of this broad area of research, the wealth of research can be overwhelming, with findings from each sub area too dispersed from one another. A comprehensive and integrated research synthesis and perspective on the impact of mindfulness on child development that includes both direct and indirect influences is timely and necessary to bring together research in these areas, so as to best inform practice and policy on whether and how mindfulness can be harnessed to enhance child outcomes.

Unlike learning words for objects, learning the meaning of number words such as one, two and three takes years to master. Although children produce number words early and can typically count from one to ten by the age of 2 to 3, numerous studies have shown that the mastery of number words can take, on average, 2 to 3 years (see Sarnecka, 2015, for reviews). Studies have robustly shown that children learn the first few number words one at a time, and after learning the meaning of three or four, children are said to have acquired counting and the meaning of the rest of the number words. This is a significant step in children's number development, because recent studies have shown that the earlier children acquire counting, the better they are at understanding Arabic numerals, which are foundational in mathematics (Geary, 2018). Nevertheless, little is known about what predicts children's learning of the first few number words, and how we may facilitate their learning. This is important, because the earlier children learn the first few number words, the sooner they will be at acquiring the meaning of counting. In addition, it remains unknown how learning more than one language affects number word learning. A growing number of children are now raised in a bilingual language environment. However, thus far, only two studies have examined bilingual children's number development, and they have found conflicting findings with respect to whether number knowledge transfers between languages (Sarnecka, Negen, & Goldman, 2017; Wagner, Kimura, Cheung, & Barner, 2015). Given the significance of learning number word meanings in the development of later mathematics, and the fact that bilingual number development remains largely unexplored, the proposed project examines when and how 2- to 5-year-old bilingual children learn number words in four studies. The goal of the proposed project is twofold: (1) to document the developmental trajectory of number word learning in a bilingual population - Singapore, and (2) to investigate external factors (e.g., language input of teachers and parents, visual comparisons) and internal factors (e.g., children's engagement level) that may facilitate children's learning of number word meanings. We also aim to address the role of language dominance in bilingual number development. Overall, the four proposed studies will provide insights into number development in bilingual children in Singapore. Our findings on whether input and child-related factors predict the acquisition of number word meanings will also have implications for monolingual children's number development.

Learning to read is essential in the modern era, but it is a skill that must be taught rather than learned implicitly, or naturally. Technology is playing an increasing role in educational practice, including teaching children to read. In this proposal, we investigate the use of interactive, technology-based teaching platforms for building early literacy skills with struggling readers. We propose two studies: first a computational study to examine models of learning sound-symbol correspondence for the inconsistent, deep orthography of English; and second, a study applying findings from study 1 to the teaching of letter-sound correspondences with P1 children enrolled in the learning support program (LSP) using the technology-based tools. Findings from the first study will be used to inform best approaches to the teaching of English lettersound correspondences for study 2. In study 2, we will employ previously-developed successful interactive tools that scaffold learning using mnemonic picture cues, and that increase practice and speed with identifying letter-sounds for these at-risk children. Different approaches based on the models from study 1 will be compared in a between group design with pre- and post-test measures of reading, decoding and encoding. These methods will supplement the usual support services. Findings from this set of studies will contribute to our understanding of best methods for teaching early literacy skills with innovative methods that are engaging and effective.

Intercultural competencies have increasingly been seen as an important part of the discourse on 21st century competencies (also popularly known as 21 CC). The importance of intercultural competencies is reflected in OECD's move in implementing "Global competence for an inclusive world" as one of the dimensions of the Program for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2018. Studies on intercultural education define itself as a set of multi-faceted process of interaction through which relations between different cultures are constructed, with the aim of enabling groups and individuals to forge links between cultures based on mutual respect and fairness. The main objectives of this proposed study are firstly to examine how Singaporean students understand cultural differences (e.g. racial and religious) as they position themselves in the discourses of intercultural encounters and secondly, to gauge their views and understanding of “the cultural others” in their interethnic/intercultural interaction and relations. This study also aims to contribute to an understanding to how diversities are discussed in our schools and thereby providing insights into the level of intercultural competencies of our educators. From its earliest days, Singapore has been an ethnically-diverse society and social cohesion has therefore always been a priority in the State's governance. Multiracialism is written into the Constitution in the founding of the nation in 1965. Under the multiracial Constitution, three main racial groups plus one residual one are acknowledged; Chinese, Malays, Indian and Others (CMIO), a residual category that includes Eurasian Singaporeans and everybody else. The explicit recognition of 'race' as difference is by now part of the everyday consciousness of Singaporeans. Over the years, Singapore has been transforming into a global economic hub with an expanding cosmopolitan population. Singaporeans now must navigate further cultural complexities of greater demographic diversification in recent years brought about by immigration and intermarriages. Singapore students now have classmates who cannot be neatly categorised into CMIO. Incidents of tensions have arose more frequently and there has been increasing concern over inter-ethnic relations /cohesion and the state of multiculturalism in Singapore in general. However, commentaries of racial issues in the social media have often revealed insensitivity, inappropriate responses and scant knowledge of fellow citizens from a different culture. Greater intercultural competencies among Singaporeans is necessary for the continued social harmony of Singapore as well as to develop future-ready learners with a global outlook. This study is borne out of that need. We believe it is timely and necessary to investigate and understand the intercultural competencies of our young people as they interact and develop their nascent sense of citizenry in the fast-changing common spaces of their school sites. Understanding how diversities and differences are perceived in schools will contribute to the achievement of MOE desired student outcomes in the 21st Century Competencies, particularly in the areas of civic literacy, global awareness and cross cultural skills. Knowledge of youths' intercultural competencies and how diversity and differences are discussed in schools could perhaps inform NIE towards a provision of enhanced teacher education to equip teachers with the necessary capacity to help students navigate and negotiate interculturality. At the societal level, greater intercultural competence and understanding may improve interethnic relations and thus social cohesion. Exploratory in nature, this study will employ narrative inquiry as qualitative methodology, generating insights through interviews, focus group discussions, observations. This study will also include a look at students online intercultural positionings of themselves and their internet interactions.

Self-regulation skills enable children to effectively engage in formal learning in structured classroom settings. Children with good self-regulation skills are better equipped to acquire knowledge as they are able to remember instructions, attend to lessons and stay on task. They also display appropriate classroom behaviors which support the development of positive relationships with teachers and peers. Self-regulation skills are also negatively associated with socio-emotional problems, which in turn are linked to poorer academic outcomes. Taken together, children with poor self-regulation skills are likely to face adjustment difficulties during the transition to primary school. To the extent that these difficulties persist beyond the first year of school, these children are at higher risk for future academic failure. Thus, there is a pressing need to examine the outcomes of children with self-regulation difficulties and to identify protective factors that mitigate the deleterious effects of poor self-regulation skills. The proposed study examines the relation between self-regulation (executive functioning and effortful control) skills, socio-emotional competence and academic outcomes during the early years of primary school. This study will tap on the Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP) database (which provides a rich source of data on 1200 children from ages 5 to 7) to identify a subsample of children with poor self-regulation skills at Primary 1 (age 7). The first aim of this study is to examine the influence of early self-regulation difficulties (at Primary 1) on children's self-regulatory, academic and socio-emotional outcomes at Primary 3 (age 9). The second aim is to examine whether specific individual and contextual factors moderate the relationship of poor self-regulation skills with child outcomes at Primary 3. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of the developmental outcomes of a relatively understudied group of children and shed some light on the role of children's and their parents' mindsets, as well as the learning context in helping children optimize their development.

Theory of mind (ToM) allows us to recognise other people's mental states, predict and explain people's behaviour. It is a key aspect of social understanding and is fundamental to socio-emotional development (Wellman & Liu, 2004). It has been suggested that most typically developing 5-7 years old children were able to pass the basic ToM tests (White, Hill, Happé, & Frith, 2009) and there is a need to develop tests of advanced ToM especially for older children and adults. Advanced ToM tests require one to recognise people's intentions, attitudes, desires and emotions (Happe, 1994). There are limited ToM tests available to evaluate advanced ToM, especially in youths and in Singapore context. This project aims to develop and provide psychometric properties for the Youth-Theory of Mind (Y-ToM) Singapore version using video-scenarios based in part on Happe's Strange Stories test (Happe, 1994). The Strange Stories is one of the most commonly used tests to evaluate advanced ToM. Normative and psychometric properties of the Y-ToM would be evaluated in a large community-based sample of Singaporean students of ages between 13 to 16 years old (N = 400). The Y-ToM can provide a starting point for student-teacher or other school professional discussions about the subtleties of social interaction and the interpretation of the interpersonal behaviours of others. It is also envisaged (in future studies) that the Y-ToM would serve to be useful in the screening and intervention of certain clinical groups with ToM impairments such as individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and even typically developing individuals who experience social difficulties.

In our previous work, we designed and evaluated a computer-based training programme based on the Running Span and Keep Track paradigms. Conducted with children from the Learning Support Programme for Mathematics (LSM), we found training resulted in improvements at immediate post-test, which was sustained and significant six months post-training. Nonetheless, intervention did not result in better mathematics performance relative to control. In the proposed study, we will be working with our MoE colleagues to refine the training further. Several major changes will be made to the protocol. First, duration of intervention will be reduced to 10 - 15 minutes per session to allow training to be used during class time by teachers. With the significantly reduced training time per session, the length of the overall training will be lengthened . Training effects will be evaluated by comparison between performances on working memory and mathematics tasks prior to training, 6, 12, and 18 months into training. Second, a numeric training protocol will be used for children whose difficulties are related primarily to basic numeracy. Third, we will test a protocol in which working memory based training is combined with basic numeracy training. The multiple data points will afford opportunities to chart the development of fundamental math skills in this group of children, which have been shown to be at risk of long term delays.

More and more parents purchase on-screen products (e.g., electronic storybooks) for children as young as three years old to increase language exposure at home (Sun, Steinkrauss, Tenderio & de Bot, 2016). Well-designed animated e-storybooks seem hold great promise for children's emerging literacy, since such books can stimulate readers' visual, auditory and even kinaesthetic senses to comprehend a story and unfamiliar language via nonverbal sources (motion pictures, sound and background music) that match the narration (de Jong & Bus, 2002; 2004; Neuman, 1997; Verhallen, Bus, & de Jong, 2006). However, it is unknown how these programs influence children's learning over time and whether mother tongue language (MTL) learners could ultimately benefit from exposure to them. The current study will explore the efficacy of animated e-storybooks on Singapore children's MTL learning (4-5 years old). The relation between features of the animated e-storybook (i.e., motion, sound and background music) and children's visual fixation (as measured with eye tracking equipment) will be explored from the perspective of the theory of Complex Dynamic Systems. Children's vocabulary and reading comprehension will be compared after using an animated e-storybook and a corresponding static version. Three prize winning child stories, Little Kangaroo (Genechten, 2007), Pete on the Pavement (Veldkamp, 2004), and Cycling With Grandpa (Boonen, 2004) will be used as reading materials. The current study has strong scientific and social relevance. It will be the first study to track children's e-storybook online processing from the perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems, and systematically reveal the impact of different book features on children's eye fixation in repetitive readings. Such findings will inform us about the nature of animated e-book learning and its advantages on children's language development, and provide parents and educators with pedagogical suggestions. Moreover, it will offer suggestions to e-learning designers to improve their products and optimize the learning result for the children.

Test anxiety is a non-trivial issue, especially in high-stakes-examination environments such as the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore. Estimated to afflict 10% to 40% of students from age 7, test anxiety can immediately and adversely impact psychological well-being and performance. In the long run, test anxiety has been linked to low self-esteem, depression and suicide ideation, and is negatively correlated with academic performance and achievement. Although various interventions have been found to reduce test anxiety to varying degrees, the bulk of intervention studies were based on older participants and involved techniques that were relatively complex and required some time “in therapy”. Recognising the need for techniques that can be quickly and easily applied by children, our previous study, funded by an OER start-up grant (SUG), examined the efficacy of a simple deep breathing intervention - a quick and cost-free self-regulatory tool that can be easily taught and applied in classrooms as young as Grade 2. Conducted in a school setting, the study found that taking deep breaths before a timed math test significantly reduced feelings of anxiety and improved math performance in elementary school children. However, there were a few areas of ambiguity in the findings that we were unable to clarify with the behavioral data collected. For example, the mechanisms hypothesized to underlie deep breathing's effect on performance were a better state-of-mind via state anxiety reduction (relaxation) and increased attentional focus. Although state anxiety was found to be reduced by deep breathing, we did not find the expected effect of increased attentional focus. However, positive changes effected by intervention are not always detectable by behavioral measures: Rueda, Checa, and Cómbita (2012) found electroencephalography (EEG) evidence of improved neural efficiency following an attention training intervention, despite the lack of significant improvement on behavioral measures of attention. This suggests that neurophysiological data may provide a more sensitive measure of change especially in covert cognitive processes than behavioral data. Furthermore, changes in self-ratings of state anxiety may not reflect actual changes in autonomic arousal (i.e., actual relaxation achieved on a physiological level). The SUG study found some evidence suggesting that dispositional proneness to autonomic reactivity in test-like situations may modulate the effect of deep breathing on performance. Additional neurophysiological data on attention and relaxation may thus be important in elucidating changes effected during the intervention and may provide additional insight on underlying mechanisms. A source of neurophysiological data that has been extensively used in the study of cognitive and affective processes is EEG non-invasive recordings of brain activity measured by electrodes placed along the scalp. Neurofunctional data measured by techniques such as EEG provide insights on covert cognitive processes which may not always be apparent on a behavioral level. However, the use of EEG outside of laboratory settings such as, in school-based data collection has been severely limited by the costs and physical constraints imposed by medical grade EEG systems. Technological advancements in recent years have, however, resulted in new possibilities. Mobile, simplified versions of clinical EEG machines in the form of wireless EEG headsets are now commercially available at relatively low cost. Though originally developed for brain-computer interface (BCI) applications, some of these headsets can also be used to provide EEG-based and raw EEG data. In the proposed study, the use of these headsets to provide additional neurofunctioning data and insight on the effects and possible mechanisms of a deep breathing intervention will be explored.