Character and Citizenship Education

The TKGS Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum undergird the school’s mission to nurture women who lead from within, confident and capable of living out an impassioned spirit to serve the common good; with a vision on raising Accomplished Women of Character and Grace. These aspirations, in tandem with the school’s values of Fortitude, Integrity, Humility and Graciousness, take reference from MOE’s CCE2021 curriculum frame, to form the foundation of TKGS’ CCE curriculum.

The curriculum content comprises of National Education (NE), Sexuality Education (SEd.), Mental Health (MH), Education and Career Guidance (ECG), Cyber Wellness (CW) and Family Education (FE), and they are premised on the big ideas of Identity, Relationships and Choices. The content delivery are anchored on the teaching of core values and social-emotional competencies to help TKGians build Character, cultivate Graciousness and live Accomplished lives.

TKGS’ CCE curriculum is enacted via the following platforms.

LEGACY (Leading.Empowering.Guiding.Affirming.Challenging.Youths) lessons - structured curriculum time and experiences for TKGians to learn and apply values, knowledge and skills for CCE content areas relevant to their developmental stages.

Figure 1: Key Components of TKGS LEGACY Curriculum

The LEGACY lessons adopt a future-oriented focus through the use of life experiences and stories as contexts for learning to prepare TKGians for future responsibilities, and equip them to make well-considered decisions. Appropriate pedagogical principles, approaches, and strategies would be applied to engage TKGians in discussions, sense-making and reflection to deepen their understanding

Values-in-Action Programme (ViA)

Purpose of TKGS ViA Programme

To provide learning experiences that support students’ development as socially responsible citizens who can contribute meaningfully to the community, through the learning and application of values, knowledge and skills; and
To instill in our students a sense of empathy, rootedness and responsibility for Singaporeans and global community.

Student Outcomes

Through the ViA Programme, students will be able to:

Identify and understand community issues, and have empathy for their community and fellow Singaporeans;
Initiate action amongst their peers to systematically make a difference and improve the lives of others;
Reflect, learn and internalise values from their learning experience; and
Appreciate their role as concerned citizens and active contributors to local and global issues.

Overview of ViA Themes and Sub-Themes

To provide authentic learning experiences for TKGians, TKGS considers community issues that are relevant to national interests as the basis for learning in the school’s Values-in-Action (ViA) Programme. The community issues are organised in the following three overarching themes and respective sub-themes for the ViA Curriculum:

Main Theme	Sub Themes	Sec 1	Sec 2	Sec 3/4
Championing Environment Causes	Managing Singapore’s Water	Understanding water as an essential yet scarce resource in Singapore and other parts of the world	Knowing how water is managed effectively, and raising public awareness on the importance of water conservation and water cleanliness	Understanding global water issues and raising public awareness on the importance of water conservation cleanliness
Championing Environment Causes	Adopting a Green Lifestyle	Knowing the various environmental issues caused by human activities	Understanding the causes and impacts of various environmental issues	Promoting environmental conservation to the community
Strengthening Social Infrastructure	Supporting our (Female) Youth	Knowing our (female) youths, children with special needs, those at the fringes and the elderly in Singapore as individuals	Understanding and addressing challenges faced by (female) youths, children with special needs, those at the fringes and the elderly in Singapore	Understanding global issues facing (female) youths
	Caring for Special Needs Children			Understanding how other countries care for children with special needs
	Integrating those at the Fringes			Understanding how other countries integrate those at the fringes
	Caring for the Elderly			Evaluating the impact of an aging population on the global community
Preserving Our Heritage	Protecting our Natural Heritage	Connecting with our natural heritage	Identify causes and protecting Singapore’s natural heritage	Understanding our global environment
	Preserving our Cultural Heritage	Experiencing Singapore’s cultural heritage	Identifying with and promoting Singapore’s cultural heritage	Understanding the National identity vs Global identity debate

Overview of 4 Year Level-based ViA Programme

Year	Theme and Outcomes	Learning Experience
Sec 1	*Stirring Hearts, Opening Eyes* TKGians will: Gain knowledge on local community issues across the three themes and the significance of them to Singapore’s future; Raise awareness of local community issues amongst peers; and Develop empathy for fellow Singaporeans.	TKGians start their Sec 1 ViA journey by engaging in experiential learning to develop their social consciousness toward various community issues. They embark on learning journeys to experience water issues, the plight of foreign workers, the elderly, disabled etc. Their learning experiences are well scaffold through pre-learning journey research tasks and post-learning journey reflections which will culminate in them putting a pitch to their fellow classmates to raise awareness of various community causes.
Sec 2	*Equipping and Engaging Minds* TKGians will: Deepen understanding on local community issues for a specific theme; Work systematically to serve and have a positive impact on the community; and Appreciate their role as active and concerned citizens.	Building on their exposure to the various community causes, the Sec 2 ViA programme equips TKGians to systematically address community issues, deepen their understanding on a specific local community issue that they are interested in, and grow in appreciation of their role in contributing to society.
Sec 3	*Deepening and Championing* TKGians will Deepen understanding on local and global community needs for a specific theme; Work proactively and systematically to serve and have a positive impact on the community; and Appreciate their ability to contribute to the lives of others as an active and concerned citizen.	With the skills acquired from lower Secondary, TKGians are given the platform to deepen their learning in a cause they believe in, working alongside teacher mentors, who share the same passion and interest. They are given the opportunity to take ownership in defining how they can contribute to the community. To broaden their impact and influence on local and global communities, TKGians are encouraged to leverage the support of local and international partners, governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Sec 4	*Giving back and Mentoring* TKGians will Gain knowledge of school’s needs; Appreciate their role as active and concerned students and work proactively and systematically to serve the needs of the school; and Appreciate the need to contribute back to society.	In the final year, TKGians leave a legacy by preparing a graduation gift for the school and by mentoring younger TKGians in their community projects. This is to help graduating students develop a sense of gratitude and the spirit of giving back to their alma mater which has shaped their lives.

Citizenship Education

Figure 2: Platforms for Citizenship Education (CE) in TKGS

Citizenship Education (CE) in TKGS is delivered through a range of platforms, as shown in the above diagram. These include the explicit teaching of Citizenship Education lessons in LEGACY, the infusion of CE in the Instructional Programme, CE Learning Journeys, commemoration of the 4 core NE events and the Assembly Programme. In particular, CE in TKGS is aligned to the school’s Values-in-Action programme where learning experiences have been designed for students to deepen their understanding and contribute to community issues that are of national interests.

NE Commemorative Days

TKGS commemorates 4 core NE events which have been identified as defining moments in Singapore's history. The aim is to entrench these events and the images they evoke in the consciousness of each successive generation.

Cyber Wellness

Our students today belong to a generation that are constantly connected. The open nature of the internet poses a danger to our students as it can expose them to undesirable content which may derail their value systems, and expose them to unnecessary harm.

Cyber Wellness in TKGS looks into the positive well-being of students as they navigate the cyberspace. It imparts TKGians with the norms of appropriate, responsible behaviour on technology use, as well as the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes on protecting oneself and others in the cyber world. It also looks into the positive physical and psychosocial well-being of TKGians in their use of mobile and internet technologies.