Academic Profile : Faculty
Dr Kwek Beng Kiat, Dennis
Centre Director, Centre for Research in Pedagogy & Practice and Associate Dean, Strategic Engagement
Senior Research Scientist, National Institute of Education - Office for Research
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Dr Dennis Kwek is the Centre Director, Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, and Associate Dean (Strategic Engagement), Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also the Head of the CORE Research Office, Office of Education Research as well as an Associate Editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Education (Taylor & Francis).
He received his Master of Arts (Management Studies, Distinction) and his Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Essex, UK. He was conferred his Ph.D in Education from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore on July 2014. A Senior Research Scientist with over 30 years of research experience in the UK and Singapore, his research interests include system studies in education, policy research, classroom pedagogies, classroom interactions and discourse analysis, sociology and philosophy of education, comparative education, school improvement and teacher professional development. He is experienced in conducting research studies using both qualitative and mixed-methods research methodologies.
Dr Kwek is currently leading National Institute of Education’s CORE Research Programme (2004-present), a multi-million-dollar government-funded large-scale baseline suite of empirical studies into Singaporean classroom pedagogies. To date he has been awarded in excess of SGD$16 milion in project grants with over SGD$9 million focusing on the CORE Research Programme.
Dr Kwek is also a member of several committees, including the NTU Senate Sub-Committee for Research, the MOE-NIE Joint working Committee for the establishment of the Centre for Character and Citizenship Education (CCE), NIE; the 2021 Pre-University Character and Citizenship Education Syllabus Development Committee, MOE, Singapore; as well as the NIE representative for the "Save Our Future" Working Group on Education Workforce and Learning Teams hosted by The Education Commission, USA and Co-Chair of the NIE Values & Ethics Strategic Growth Area. More recently he was appointed as the Singapore representative to the Global Education Forum which discussed on the proposals for the education workforce as well as suggestions and support for the proposals around the ongoing themes of school nutrition and health (including prioritizing education workers in COVID vaccination), foundational learning, and digital learning. This high-level forum included academics, politicians and policy makers from around the world. He had also recently served as a panel judge for the Global Undergraduate Awards. Dr Kwek was also appointed as the Convenor to the 2022 Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference, Singapore.
Dr Kwek has published over 200 journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, technical reports, consultation papers, opinion pieces as well as social media articles. Many of these publications are key in contextualizing and framing some of the integral aspects of the Singapore education landscape. His contribution to NIE’s teacher education programmes is also notable; he has taught on research methods, the social context of education in Singapore, and character and citizenship education as well as guest-lectured in the Leaders in Education Programme and the NIE Executive Programme for System-level Education Leaders. He is currently supervising 2 PhD students.
In his career, Dr Kwek has received a number of awards and accolades which includes the American Education Research Journal - Outstanding Reviewer Award. He was also awarded the NIE Excellence in Service and Long-Service (10 Years) Awards and the Office of Education Research Outstanding Researcher Award.
He received his Master of Arts (Management Studies, Distinction) and his Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Essex, UK. He was conferred his Ph.D in Education from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore on July 2014. A Senior Research Scientist with over 30 years of research experience in the UK and Singapore, his research interests include system studies in education, policy research, classroom pedagogies, classroom interactions and discourse analysis, sociology and philosophy of education, comparative education, school improvement and teacher professional development. He is experienced in conducting research studies using both qualitative and mixed-methods research methodologies.
Dr Kwek is currently leading National Institute of Education’s CORE Research Programme (2004-present), a multi-million-dollar government-funded large-scale baseline suite of empirical studies into Singaporean classroom pedagogies. To date he has been awarded in excess of SGD$16 milion in project grants with over SGD$9 million focusing on the CORE Research Programme.
Dr Kwek is also a member of several committees, including the NTU Senate Sub-Committee for Research, the MOE-NIE Joint working Committee for the establishment of the Centre for Character and Citizenship Education (CCE), NIE; the 2021 Pre-University Character and Citizenship Education Syllabus Development Committee, MOE, Singapore; as well as the NIE representative for the "Save Our Future" Working Group on Education Workforce and Learning Teams hosted by The Education Commission, USA and Co-Chair of the NIE Values & Ethics Strategic Growth Area. More recently he was appointed as the Singapore representative to the Global Education Forum which discussed on the proposals for the education workforce as well as suggestions and support for the proposals around the ongoing themes of school nutrition and health (including prioritizing education workers in COVID vaccination), foundational learning, and digital learning. This high-level forum included academics, politicians and policy makers from around the world. He had also recently served as a panel judge for the Global Undergraduate Awards. Dr Kwek was also appointed as the Convenor to the 2022 Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference, Singapore.
Dr Kwek has published over 200 journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, technical reports, consultation papers, opinion pieces as well as social media articles. Many of these publications are key in contextualizing and framing some of the integral aspects of the Singapore education landscape. His contribution to NIE’s teacher education programmes is also notable; he has taught on research methods, the social context of education in Singapore, and character and citizenship education as well as guest-lectured in the Leaders in Education Programme and the NIE Executive Programme for System-level Education Leaders. He is currently supervising 2 PhD students.
In his career, Dr Kwek has received a number of awards and accolades which includes the American Education Research Journal - Outstanding Reviewer Award. He was also awarded the NIE Excellence in Service and Long-Service (10 Years) Awards and the Office of Education Research Outstanding Researcher Award.
Asian Philosophy and Pedagogies,Baseline research,Pedagogical research, Classroom Interactions,Discourse Analysis,Educational Philosophy,Pedagogical Research,Qualitative Research,School Innovations,Sociology of Education,System Studies
- Core 3 Research Programme: Baseline Investigation of Subject-Domain Pedagogies in Singapore's Primary and Secondary Classrooms (C3-PP)
- Pathways to Meaningful Careers:Understanding Successes and Challenges in the Transitions from School to Work for Singapore's ITE students
- CORE 3 Research Programme: Baseline Investigation of Mother Tongue Pedagogies in Singapore's Primary and Secondary Classrooms (C3MT)
- Understanding the Classroom Engagement of Students with Special Educational Needs: An Exploration of Measurement, Levels, and Factors
- Phase 1 of CORE 4 Research Programme: Baseline Investigations of Designated Subject Domain (DSD) Pedagogies in Singapore's Primary and Secondary Classrooms (C4P1)
- Main Study of CORE 4 Research Programme: Education Trend Studies of Designated Subject Domain (DSD) Pedagogies in Singapore's Primary and Secondary Classrooms (C4MS)
- Main Study of CORE 4 Research Programme: Education Trend Studies of Designated Subject Domain (DSD) Pedagogies in Singapore's Primary and Secondary Classrooms (C4MS)
Awards
• 2017 Outstanding Reviewer Award 2016, American Educational Research Journal, American Educational Research Association
• 2016 Outstanding Researcher, Office of Education Research
• 2013 Best Research Paper Award, Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference 2013 (Title: Orchestration of Talk for Meaning Making in Reading Comprehension. Authors: Nadya Sen, Dennis Kwek, Phillip Towndrow, David Hogan).
• 2012 NIE Excellence in Service Award
• 2012 NIE Long Service Award (10 Years)
• 2016 Outstanding Researcher, Office of Education Research
• 2013 Best Research Paper Award, Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference 2013 (Title: Orchestration of Talk for Meaning Making in Reading Comprehension. Authors: Nadya Sen, Dennis Kwek, Phillip Towndrow, David Hogan).
• 2012 NIE Excellence in Service Award
• 2012 NIE Long Service Award (10 Years)
Courses Taught
Character and Citizenship Education
Social Context of Education
Educational Inquiry
Social Context of Education
Educational Inquiry
Supervision of PhD Students
Monica Ong Woei Ling
Alistair Jun Nan Peacock
Alistair Jun Nan Peacock