A comparative study of attitudes toward transition from the Singapore National Curriculum in primary level to the UK Cambridge International Curriculum in secondary level held by secondary years 1 to 4 students in English, mathematics and science subjects at an international school in Greater Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

This quantitative study was conducted to compare, among different secondary year levels, the attitudes toward the transition from the Singapore National Curriculum at the primary level to the UK Cambridge International Curriculum in the secondary level held by Secondary Years 1 to 4 students in three academic subjects (i.e., English, Mathematics and Science) at an international school in Greater Bangkok, Thailand. This study was conducted on 102 students in Secondary Years 1 to 4 in the academic year 2019-2020. The target school follows the Singapore Ministry of Education’s national curriculum at nursery, kindergarten, and primary school levels, while the school follows the UK Cambridge International Curriculum at the secondary level. A questionnaire entitled the Questionnaire for Attitudes Toward Transition from the Singapore National Curriculum in Primary Level to the UK Cambridge International Curriculum in Secondary Level was developed for the data collection. The questionnaire comprised three 15-item sections (one for each subject), coded on a 6-point Likert scale, designed to assess students’ attitude toward the curricular transition in relation to six dimensions; timetable, classwork, homework, assessment, teachers, and textbooks. The data analysis found that the participants’ attitudes toward the curricular transition in English, Mathematics, and Science ranged from slightly negative to positive. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that, in the English subject, there was a significant difference between students’ attitudes toward the curricular transition along with all year levels. There was a significant difference in the Mathematics subject between students’ attitudes toward the curricular transition among Secondary Year 1 and Year 2 students and Secondary Year 2 and Years 3 and 4 students. In the Science subject, there was a significant difference between students’ attitudes toward the curricular transition among Secondary Year 1 and Years 3 and 4 students, and Secondary Year 2 and Years 3 and 4 students. Based on the research findings, recommendations for students, parents, teachers, administrators, and future researchers.