CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Ng, Shuang Yin Cheryl |
|---|---|
| Title | We the Citizens of Singapore: The Creation, Maintenance and Cracks of a Perfect Hegemony. Exploring the Relationship of the Singaporean to the State through National Education. |
| Summary | What is the role of schooling and the curriculum in reproducing societal norms, political engagement and the relationship between individuals and the state in Singapore? Singapore under the regime of the People’s Action Party (PAP) has been long known and criticized for its illiberal democracy, earning itself the title of a ‘’perfect hegemony’' (Sim, 2001). This research questions the role of education as a state apparatus in disciplining the relationship citizens hold to the state through the theoretical lens of Althusser (1970), Foucault (in Rose, 2011; Lemke 2001; Daldal, 2014), and Gramsci (1999). This research also uncovers the ‘’ ;cracks’ ’ within the hegemonic regime of the state through exploring how despite the many challenges and fears of sharing criticisms of the state publicly, citizens seek out alternative spaces to voice their rejection and opinions. Through applying Foucault’s (2007) notion of counter conducts, this research aims to also unpack the spaces through which citizens in their everyday lives reject the state. This research employs an embedded case study methodology, exploring two subunits: ‘’ ;Educators 19;’ and ‘’ ;Studentsȁ 9;’. The ‘’ ;Educatorȁ 9;’ subunit consisted of four semi-structured interviews and thirteen surveys with educators across various educational institutions and teaching experience. The ‘’ ;student’ ;’ subunit consisted of eleven semi-structured interviews conducted with individuals who have attended all their compulsory schooling in Singaporean state schools. The eleven respondents shared their constructions of citizenship and perceptions of their schooling experiences in relation to their citizenry. Through this research, I garner a better understanding of the mechanisms that help maintain and reproduce the hegemonic state-citizen relationship while also exploring how citizens simultaneously express their seemingly growing distrust towards the state, utilizing digital spaces to voice their criticisms and opinions. This research also demonstrates the tension educators face in their roles as cultural workers and their interpellation as citizens. |
| Supervisor | Rajaram, Prem Kumar; Kowalski, Alexandra |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/ng_shuang-yin-cheryl.pdf |
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