Singapore Social Change And Evolution Of Hokkien Huay Kuan's Cultural And Educational Functions

As the largest Chinese population,the strongest economic strength,the greatest influence Chinese association in Singapore,Hokkien Huay Kuan has glory history of education.Its cultural and educational functions are of the most general characteristic and most widely representation about Chinese people running schools,undoubtedly, which is the best case of Chinese Singapore education research.This article takes"Chuan-Deng"which is Hokkien Huay Kuan's conference proceeding as the main material,unifies the Chinese Singapore history,Chinese Singapore education history, Chinese association history and other related literature,in the interaction of Singapore social change and Hokkien Huay Kuan's cultural and educational functions,studies Hokkien Huay Kuan's education history and discusses the new features of contemporary Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan's cultural and educational functions with emphasis.Since colonial authorities adopted laissez-faire policy,so Hokkien Huay Kuan obtained an objective policy environment to display its education function.In this case,Hokkien Huay Kuan began to raise funds to build schools and carried on Chinese school education,thus,the cultural and educational functions emerged gradually.After World Warâ…¡,Hokkien Huay Kuan reconstructed the schools which were damaged by Japan,constructed new schools,resumpted Chinese school education,actively.With its autonomy and independence,Singapore society changed greatly.National identity of Chinese Singapore turned.Meanwhile,the government began to implement bilingual education and reform education administration system. Under the dual function of the macroscopic social change and the microscopic educational policy,Hokkien Huay Kuan's cultural and educational functions tend to decline.In the 1980s,with the end of the Cold War and the rise of China,Singapore government began to support Chinese education and encouraged multi-national culture to solve a series of social problems brought by bilingual education.In this context,Hokkien Huay Kuan obtained a new developing opportunity once again.In order to adapt new situation,Hokkien Huay Kuan adjusted its organizational structure, personnel constitution,source of income and realized the cultural and educational functions new transition.In contemporary,since the relationship between Hokkien Huay Kuan and the subsidiary schools has changed,Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan adjusts its role promptly to perform its cultural and educational functions fully in the policy scope. To improve schools environment,Hokkien Huay Kuan allocates funds to carry on the campus construction,including campus hardware construction and Chinese teachers' software construction.In aspect of Chinese education,Hokkien Huay Kuan carries on Chinese education for students through holding Chinese essay contest of five elementary schools,setting up Hokkien Huay Kuan Literary Awards,organizing Chinese study camp,uniting other organizations to hold Chinese competition and so on.In aspect of China culture education,Hokkien Huay Kuan carries on Chinese culture education for the student through setting up Hokkien Huay Kuan culture and art scholarship,increasing traditional culture curriculum,using the art troupe to carry out cultural activities exchange,carrying on Confucian culture education to China, holding the annual presentation ceremony in Kong Zi's birthday,carrying on the traditional festival celebration and the pedagogical activity and so on.Currently, Hokkien Huay Kuan's cultural and educational functions have great significance for Chinese language's extension and Chinese culture's inheritance,which play a role of handing torch down.