Page 103 - 2022(1) International Confusion Studies

Int. Confucian Stud. 2022; 1(1): 96–112

Peng Fu Neo*
The Confucian Ethics Curriculum in
Singapore

https://doi.org/10.1515/icos-2022-2013

Abstract: In Singapore, the Confucian Ethics Curriculum was introduced between
1984 and 1992 as an elective subject of the moral education curriculum for sec-
ondary three and four students. The Singapore government put the Curriculum
Development Institute of Singapore (“the Curriculum Development Institute of
Singapore”, hereinafter referred to as “CDIS”) under the Ministry of Education in
charge of developing a set of textbooks called Confucian Ethics and training
teachers to teach them in schools. The textbooks were used in all secondary
schools nationwide to fulfill the objective of teaching Confucianism. The attempt
of systematic introduction of Confucianism to students as young as 15 or 16 years
old through a formal curriculum in the public education system by the state is
probably rare even in current Chinese societies, not to mention that the project
was implemented nearly 40 years ago. The introduction of this curriculum in
Singapore is of some significance for the preservation and promotion of Confu-
cianism. This paper examines the Chinese textbooks of the curriculum in terms of
background, objectives, systems, content, characteristics, and inspiration for
future generations.
Keywords: Singapore, moral education, civic education, Confucianism, Confucian
Ethics, New Confucianists (Xin Rujia)

1 Introduction

The textbooks Confucian Ethics (《儒家伦理》) developed in Singapore some 40
years ago, were available in both Chinese and English. In other words, students
could choose to take the course in either Chinese or English. The discussion in

Article note: This is an abridged version of the article which was first published in Chinese in Issue
2, Volume 1 of International Studies on Confucianism (《国际儒学》) (pp. 95–104) in 2021. The
English version was translated by Xiaohua Tong, with some corrections made by Peng Fu Neo.

*Corresponding author: Peng Fu Neo, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore, Singapore, E-mail: pengfu.neo@nie.edu.sg

Open Access. © 2022 the author(s), published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.