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St Andrew's Secondary School > The Saints' Experience > Academics > Humanities

Humanities

As they explore History and Geography, students develop critical thinking skills to analyse the challenges faced by Singapore and the world, and develop a rich appreciation for our country. 

History

“History is an inquiry into the past. The study of History helps students to see their place in time, where they come from, and their relationship to other communities, societies and the world at large. It enables students to appreciate human endeavours and achievements of the past. It helps to build national identity and strengthen citizenship values. In this era of globalisation, the study of History enables students to adopt a global perspective and understand the complexity of the world we live in.” (Source: CPDD, History Unit)

Secondary 1

History of Singapore: From Settlement to Nation, 1819 - 1971
  • Chapter 1 – Was there Singapore before 1819?
  • Chapter 2 – Who was Founder of Singapore?
  • Chapter 3 – What Part did the Different Immigrant Communities Play in Singapore Development?
  • Chapter 4 – How did the British Govern Singapore Before WW2?
  • Chapter 5 – How did External events before WW2 affect Singapore
  • Chapter 6 – How did WW2 affect Singapore? 

Secondary 2

  • Chapter 7 – How did the local people respond to British rule after WW2?
  • Chapter 8 – How did Singapore progress to Internal Self-Government (1955 – 59)?
  • Chapter 9 – How did Singapore achieve Independence?
  • Chapter 10 – How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
  • Social Studies Chapter 1 – Singapore: A Nation in the World 

Upper Secondary Elective
20th Century World History, 1910s-1991
Unit 1: Impact of World War I
Unit 2: Hope for a Better World?
Unit 3: The Breakdown of World Order
Unit 4: A World Divided and United?

Key Learning Approaches 

  1. Student-centred teaching
    Cooperative lessons are carried out to enable pupils to learn inter-dependently. At the Lower Secondary, Inter-Disciplinary Project Work is carried out which enables pupils to master two or more content at the same time.

  2. Learning Journeys
    These are organised to bring to life what the Saints learn in the classrooms. Such out of class learning are in line with the MOE’s initiative of Teach Less Learn More (TLLM) and National Education (NE). 

  3. Inquiry-based Approach
    There are 2 prongs to this Inquiry-based approach. One requires our students to go out to the physical world to gain insights and data through Geographical Investigation (GI) and Historical Investigations (HI). The second approach is through studying, interpreting and evaluating information in teacher-prepared case studies.

Geography

“Geographical education is valuable in deepening and broadening our students’ horizons to enable them to understand about the types and characteristics of the range of physical and human environments. By investigating the physical-human interactions between and within places, our students can become more aware of the processes involved in creating and sustaining these environments. In the process, they will develop values and attitudes critical to their roles as global citizens in a rapidly changing world. They will have a deeper appreciation of issues such as the scarcity of resources and the fragility of the physical-human environments.” (Source: CPDD, Geography Unit)

Secondary 1
Theme I - Introduction to Geography
Unit 1: Overview of Geography
Unit 2: Earth as Home

Theme II - Understanding the Environment
Unit 3: Physical and Human Geography
Unit 4: Environments Through Maps

Theme III - The Physical Environment
Unit 8: Rivers
Unit 9: Weather and Climate
Unit 10: Natural Vegetation

Secondary 2
Theme IV - The Human Environment
Unit 2: Population
Unit 3: Settlements
Unit 4: Agriculture
Unit 5: Transport and Communications

Theme V - Managing the Environment
Unit 7: Land Supply
Unit 8: Water Resources
Unit 9: Pollution
Unit 10: Global warming and Ozone depletion


Geography Elective 
PAPER 1: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
  1. PLATE TECTONICS AND THE RESULTING LANDFORMS
  2. WEATHER AND CLIMATE
  3. NATURAL VEGETATION
  4. RIVERS AND COASTS

PAPER 2: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
  1. GEOGRAPHY OF FOOD
  2. THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD
  3. TOURISM
  4. DEVELOPMENT

KEY LEARNING APPROACHES
  1. Student-centred teaching
    Cooperative lessons are carried out to enable pupils to learn inter-dependently. At the Lower Secondary, Inter-Disciplinary Project Work is carried out which enables pupils to master two or more content at the same time.

  2. Learning Journeys
    These are organized to bring to life what the SAINTS learn in the classrooms. Such out of class learning are in line with the MOE’s initiative of TLLM and NE.

  3. "Down-streaming" of topics
    Lower Sec Geography topics now dove-tail with the Upper Sec Geography (2235) syllabus as some of the topics are “down streamed” and taught at the lower secondary level. This is beneficial in two ways. Firstly, it frees up time at the Upper Secondary level (Sec 4) for drilling of exams skills. Secondly, pupils who choose to study Geography Elective would have more time to master the more difficult content, having done the less challenging topics at lower secondary.

Social Studies

The proposed syllabus is organised around two core ideas – “Being Rooted” and “Living Global”. Through these two ideas, the syllabus aims to develop our students into well-informed, responsible citizens with a sense of national identity and a global perspective. The aims of the revised syllabus are to enable students to: 
  • understand issues that affect the socio-economic development, the governance and the future of Singapore;
  • learn from the experiences of other countries to build and sustain a politically viable, socially cohesive and economically vibrant Singapore;
  • develop thinking and process skills which are essential for lifelong and independent learning;
  • have a deep sense of shared destiny and national identity;
  • develop into citizens who have empathy towards others and will participate responsibly and sensibly in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society; and
  • develop into responsible citizens with a global perspective.”(Source: CPDD, Social Studies Unit)


The Upper Secondary Social Studies syllabus adopts a thematic approach for the discussion of issues that nations are concerned with. These issues are presented in the six themes. They are:
  • Singapore as a Nation in the World
  • Understanding Governance
  • Conflict and Harmony in Multi-ethnic Societies
  • Managing International Relations
  • Sustaining Economic Development
  • Facing Challenges and Change

In addition to Content and Knowledge, the syllabus aims to
  • imbue students with the skills of critical inquiry, investigation and reflection;
  • develop critical and creative thinking in students;
  • develop students to be information-literate and adept in process skills so that they will be able to acquire, manage and use information creatively and effectively.

ELEMENTS OF BUSINESS SKILLS
"The services sector has grown substantially over the years contributing significantly to the economy of the country. It continues to be a key driver for employment growth in Singapore. Given the broad economic trends and the focus on services, in particular, in tourism and related industries, it is important that students are provided opportunities to be equipped with generic employability skills to stay relevant for the future.” (Source: CPDD, Commerce Unit)

OVERVIEW

This is an elective course available to only the Upper Secondary Normal (Technical) students. In essence, this course is designed to educate students on aspects of business knowledge pertaining to the service-related industries namely retail, travel and tourism, and hospitality in Singapore. Assessment of performance is through a written exam (60%) and coursework (40%).

SYLLABUS

UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
  • Introduction to Business Activities

UNDERSTANDING SERVICE INDUSTRIES
  • Retail Industry
  • Travel and Tourism Industry
  • Hospitality Industry

MARKETING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
  • Aspects of Marketing
  • Planning and Promotion

CUSTOMER RELATIONS
  • Customer service
  • Communicating with the customer