Academic Profile : Faculty

Ken Poon 2022.jpg picture
Prof Poon Kin Loong, Kenneth
Dean, Education Research and Centre Director, Centre for Research in Child Development
Lien Foundation Chair Professor in Education
Professor, National Institute of Education - Psychology and Child & Human Development
Kenneth is Lien Foundation Chair Professor of Education at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. He is also Dean, Education Research, as well as Centre Director of the Centre for Research in Child Development. Trained as a clinical psychologist and as an early interventionist, he has over 25 years of experience working with children and persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Kenneth is leading/has led, as principal investigator, research projects with a combined quantum of over SGD$15 million. His research has focused on the development of children (especially children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and children from low income families) examining how the home and school environments impact development. He is Lead Principal Investigator of the ongoing Drivers, Enablers and Pathways of Adolescent Development in Singapore (DREAMS), a longitudinal study of more than 7,000 adolescents. He also led the completed Transition and Adjustment of Children with Special Educational Needs (Tran-SEN), a longitudinal study of more than 700 primary/special school students.

As Singapore is a context which until recently, has not conducted much research with assessment tools, he has developed, adapted, and normed instruments which may be used for future studies such as the Singapore Ability Scales (SAS), Singapore's first commercially available test of intellectual abilities. Finally, a growing area of research is in the examination of how the outcomes of students with neurodevelopmental disabilities can be optimised in inclusive school environments.

Complementing Kenneth's research, he teaches/has taught courses on early childhood intervention, autism spectrum disorders, and the assessment of children and youth. His work extends to consulting with organizations to support children with autism spectrum disorders and more broadly, including students with special educational needs.

Kenneth is Singapore's Representative to the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children. He also contributes to the community serving as an elected Board member of the National Council of Social Service, Vice Chairperson of the Board of Catholic Family Life, and on several Advisory Panels to the government. At an international level, Kenneth serves on the editorial boards of several journals and has consulted widely in platforms informing the World Health Organization and ASEAN.
Developmental Psychopathology, Early Intervention, Assessment of Children and Youth with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
 
  • Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP)
  • Teaching brain literacy in teachers
  • Evaluation of Circle of Care (COC) Programme
  • The Transition and Adjustment of Children with Special Educational Needs in Primary or Special Schools: A Study of Three Year Outcomes and their Determinants
  • Beginning Early: SingaPore's Ongoing Study starting in Infancy of Twenty-first-century-skills, Individual differences, and Variance in the Environment (BE POSITIVE study)
  • A Study of AWWA Inclusion Inc in Mainstream Schools: Promoting Inclusion
  • Developing and Piloting an Assessment Tool of Daily Living Skills for Students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Singapore
  • CRCD Research Infrastructure and Database Project
  • Understanding the Classroom Engagement of Students with Special Educational Needs: An Exploration of Measurement, Levels, and Factors
  • A Follow-up of the Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP) Cohort in Middle Childhood: Social-Emotional, Physical, Academic Outcomes and Predictors
  • The Instrument Pilot Study for Research on Early Education and Development in Singapore (REEDS-Pilot)
  • The NIE Pathways in Education Longitudinal Study (N-PELS) Development Project
  • Early Support for Foundational Skills of Preschool Children at Socio-Economic Risk in Singapore
  • CRCD Research Infrastructure and Database Project 2
  • Strength based approach for children with special needs
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents' EducationalPathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1)
  • DRivers, Enablers and pathways of Adolescent developMent in Singapore (DREAMS): The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (SG-LCS) Phase 1
  • DRivers, Enablers and pathways of Adolescent developMent in Singapore (DREAMS): The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (SG-LCS) Phase 1
  • DRivers, Enablers and pathways of Adolescent developMent in Singapore (DREAMS): The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (SG-LCS) Phase 1
Awards
• Ministry of Social and Family Development, Outstanding Volunteer Award (2021)
• Long Service Award for Volunteers (10 years), Ministry of Social and Family Development (2018)
• Friends of MSF Award, Ministry of Social and Family Development (2017)
• Excellence in Research Award, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (2017)
• Long Service Award (10 years), National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (2013)
• Long Service Award for Volunteers (5 years), National Council of Social Service (2012)
• Long Service Award for Volunteers (5 years), Rainbow Centre (Singapore) (2012)
• Marvin Wyne Fellowship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA (2003)
• Overseas Graduate Scholarship, National Institute of Education, NTU (2002)
 
Courses Taught
Early intervention
Assessment of children and youth with special needs
Neurodiversity
 
Supervision of PhD Students
I supervise graduate students in the following areas:
- Factors influencing outcomes among persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities (especially autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities)
- Support and intervention via early childhood, inclusive, and special education