Character and Citizenship Education

Every Dunearnite to be grounded in core values, as demonstrated through their attitude, behaviour and competencies, thus achieving the Desired Outcomes of Education in the 21st Century.

• Removing all barriers to learning,
• Building strong character and citizenship, and
  
• Providing clear education and career guidance.
  

Every Dunearnite a Community Youth Leader who is Confident, Concerned, Contributing Actively and Self-Directed.

Sec 1	Sec 2	Sec 3	Sec 4 & 5
Confident people who show awareness of self, family and environment through personal leadership	Concerned citizens who show appreciation of family, school and community through team leadership	Active contributors who demonstrate action in the community and nation through community leadership	Self-directed learners who demonstrate actualization in the nation and the world through global leadership

The Dunearn CCE Framework is a structure providing us clear directions and alignment on why we do what we do and how we do it. In Dunearn, students are the heart of what we do. We want to help every Dunearnite to be anchored in core values (Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Integrity, Care and Harmony), demonstrated through their Attitude, Behaviour and Competencies, so as to achieve the desired outcomes of education in the 21st Century i.e., A Self-directed Learner, Confident Person, Concerned Citizen and Active Contributor.  

The 3 colours in the middle triangle – Blue, Red and Gold – are linked to the Dunearn school crest.
1) Blue represents discipline and steadfastness in character, so we want every Dunearnite to be grounded in core values
2) Red represents pupils’ passion and enthusiasm for learning, so this would be demonstrated in their attitude and behaviour
3) Gold represents the ultimate target of our endeavours, which is the DOE in the 21st C.

Hence, while we look forward, we are also grounded in core values and not forgetting our roots and tradition.

One key CCE Pedogogical approach that we use to facilitate students’ character and citizenship development and reflection is the Experiential Learning Approach, based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model.  Students will reflect on their experience, learn from it, and apply the lessons in everyday life.

We achieve our goals by removing all barriers to learning, building strong character and citizenship, and provide clear guidance in education and career.

Undergirding all our actions are our core beliefs.
Our Calling:  Belief in Oneself - Every Teacher a CCE Teacher; to Lead, Care and Inspire. Our Future:  Belief in Being Part of Something Larger - Student and National Outcomes; Shaping Success of Singapore.
Our Culture:  Belief in One's Students. Belief in One Another - Culture of Care.

Last but not least, the triangular support structure represents the close partnership we want to establish with the key stakeholders - the parents and community - to ensure the well-being of every child in this school, thereby having a Student-centric, Values-Driven education.

The figures below show how we design our CCE programmes and processes to achieve the level outcomes.

The CCE committee has implemented the new Character & Citizenship Education (CCE) and Values Education (VE) package. The CCE lessons that are taught by the form teachers include the explicit teaching of values. The VE lessons comprise of three components: Sexuality Education (SEd), Education & Career Guidance (ECG) and Cyberwellness.

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.

Values in Action (VIA) Programme is designed to be differentiated with the Sec 1 students doing activities related to school community; Sec 2, appreciating the elderly; Sec 3, serving needy families; Sec 4/5, role-modeling service in the community (student-initiated). Some of the ongoing partners the school works with include SWCDC, Bukit Batok Home for the Aged, REACH Youth Powerhouse, South View Primary School, Dover Hospice, Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled, ACRES and World Vision.

To develop self-discipline, CCE committee works closely with the Student Management committee to identify and develop key SEL competencies in our pupils. The Pupil-Teacher 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 every Monday morning that is aligned to the school’s core values and “Value of the Month”.

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:

• NE Core Events
• Cohort Citizenship Programmes
• Publicity of students’ work (via noticeboard, website)
• Compulsory NE Quiz for the graduating classes (4E and 4N)
• Biennial Citizenship Survey for selected Sec 2 and Sec 4 students
• Other activities by departments/CCAs e.g., MT Cultural camp, Maths Trail, ALP, Environmental activities, CCA VIA etc.
  

The main school-wide CCE pedogogical approach used to facilitate students’ character and citizenship development and reflection is the Experiential Learning Approach, based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model.  Students will reflect on their experience, learn from it, and apply the lessons in everyday life.

Values Talk (VT) are sharing sessions conducted every Monday morning. . The objective of VT is to inculcate and reinforce positive values, attitudes, behaviour and competencies. The sessions are conducted for all students by staff, students themselves, and external partners. The topics are aligned to the “Value of the Month”, which stems from the school 6 core values of R3ICH: respect, responsibility, resilience, integrity, care and harmony. At the end of each VT session, students are given the opportunity to reflect meaningfully on the key learning through an online reflection platform.

What is it?

• A rubrics tool aligned with MOE 21st Century Competencies (21st CC) framework, school core values and Dunearn Character & Citizenship Education (CCE) programmes.
• A total of six Criteria (R3ICH) and 15 Standards/Benchmarks describing the desired values, attitudes, behaviour, social & emotional learning (SEL) skills and 21st CC.  R3ICH stands for 6 core values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Integrity, Care (Compassion) & Harmony.
• It is designed with references to:
• MOE Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) Toolkit
• MOE 21st CC Framework, Standards and Benchmarks
• MOE SEL Goals, Standards and Benchmarks
• MOE CME Assessment and Evaluation
• http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/index.php

Why do we do so? 

Purpose:

• To help students develop their character progressively from lower to upper secondary and to take ownership for it.
• To help teachers work together with students and their parents on character development and hence strengthen the relationships.

End goals: 

• Culture of Care
• Positive Teacher-Student, Teacher-Parent, Parent-Child Relationships
• Desired Outcomes of Education

How do we do so?

• Values form the essence of one's character. Values and character may be assessed using proxy indicators such as attitude, behaviour, SEL skills and 21st CC i.e., R3ICH = f(Attitude, Behaviour, SEL, 21st CC).
• The overall assessment is based on both student's self-assessment and formative assessment by the Form Teachers.
• Teacher's assessment is based on observation and understanding of students' attitudes, behaviour and competencies through formal and informal interactions e.g., classroom time, one-to-one session, service learning activities, after school programmes etc. Feedback may also be obtained from other stakeholders.