In this talk, Professor Zongyi Deng explored how 21st-century competencies are recontextualised into educational aims and translated into the national curriculum in Singapore and, in so doing, looked at questions about the competency discourse and the way of translating competencies into the curriculum.

Professor Deng's work argues that Bildung-centred Didaktik provides a viable alternative way of thinking about competencies and translating competencies into the curriculum.

There has been a significant body of literature by Asian researchers that describes how 21st century competencies are recontextualised into educational goals, translated into comprehensive plans for implementation, and taught in schools and classrooms in various Asian contexts.

However, Asian researchers seldom question the basic assumptions underpinning the competency discourse and ways of recontextualising and translating competencies into the curriculum.

Zongyi Deng

Zongyi Deng is a professor of curriculum and pedagogy at the Institute of Education (IOE), University College London.

He is also an executive editor of the Journal of Curriculum Studies (JCS) and has held faculty positions at Nanyang Technological University and the University of Hong Kong.