Pedagogy book edited by NUS team clinches prestigious prize by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration
A book edited by Assistant Professor Sreeja Nair from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Dr Navarun Varma, Senior Lecturer from Residential College 4, titled “Emerging Pedagogies for Policy Education: Insights from Asia", has been recognised as the 2024 Outstanding Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Book Award Winner by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The NUS team received the prestigious prize at the NASPAA’s Annual Conference which took place from 23 to 25 October 2024 in Washington DC.
The 13-chapter, 254-page collection is the culmination of effort and academic excellence by 22 authors, who are active in both policy research and design or teaching of policy-oriented courses. These authors, who have worked or are currently working for Asian universities and institutions of higher education, include Professor Nancy Gleason, Professor Robert Wasson, Associate Professor Lakshminarayanan Samavedham, Ms Yong Bee Choon, Dr Lynette Tan and Dr Naviyn Prabhu Balakrishnan.
Presented in two parts, the book highlights key trends driving changes in policy education and presents a variety of pedagogies (or teaching methods) aimed at equipping educators and policy designers to have a greater impact on learning and policy practice. It also brings to the table an Asian perspective in this field, drawing on the authors' experiences in teaching students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as in professional programmes such as executive education, training, and capacity building for mid-career professionals and practitioners across selected universities in Asia.
"When I first shared my vision for a book that merges pedagogy and content for a more interdisciplinary approach to the teaching and learning of policy studies, I faced scepticism. Some advised me to keep pedagogy and content as separate pursuits. However, courses at the NUS Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology sparked my interest in pedagogical content knowledge and enabled me to pursue this vision," said Senior Lecturer Dr Varma, who also shared that this recognition from NASPAA has motivated him to further develop their learning community, the ‘Design Principles for Impact-driven Policy Education’ at NUS.
“Winning an award from NASPAA, a premier global accreditation body for public service education is a recognition of the rise of policy education in Asia” said Asst Prof Nair. “Curating this volume has been a rewarding journey, transforming a project borne out of sheer curiosity into a long-term research agenda,” she added.
