Abstract:
In a bid to engage learners and offer them more meaningful learning experiences, many are adopting the authentic pedagogies philosophy, moving towards greater learner centredness and autonomy. Project Work (PW) is one curriculum move taken by the Singaporean education system in this direction. As a new initiative, it offers students more independent, uniquely crafted learning experiences; however these are not without problems. First, it is often questioned whether PW lives up to the ideals espoused on paper and is cognizant of the realities in practice. Furthermore, operating in a policy environment where change is a constant, there is a need to examine if it is indeed meaningful. Thus, while PW has been evolving and re-shaping over the last five years since its implementation, there has been considerable debate over whether these changes have signified progress that aim towards enhancing learning and outcomes or if it is in fact regressing. This paper thus examines where PW is headed through a policy and curriculum review and considers some of the evolutionary patterns evident and their implications for different stakeholders and aims to provide some policy considerations to make PW a policy initiative that is well attuned to the needs of an evolving world.