Research Proposal: Brain Development & Early Teachers' Impact

This research proposal aims to analyze the impact of early teachers on brain development in Malay children from lower-income families in Singapore. It addresses the concern that brain development among these children lags behind their higher-income peers, potentially linked to communication gaps faced by early teachers and inadequate educational infrastructure for minority groups. The proposal outlines objectives including understanding early teaching methods, linking brain development to early education, and suggesting ways to enhance brain development in underprivileged children. The study employs an inductive research method, focusing on data collection and analysis to explore the nuances of the issue and provide insights into the role of early educators in shaping cognitive capacity and academic aspirations. The research questions investigate the role of infant teachers in brain development and how to encourage participation for effective brain development.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal
THE IMPACT OF THE EARLY TEACHERS IN THE BRAIN DEVELOPMENT OF THE
CHILDREN OF LOWER INCOME FAMILIES OF MALAY COMMUNITY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

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Abstract
The paper proposes to analyse the impact of the early teachers in the growth of the brain of the
Malay children who come from the lower income group. This issue is considered to be an
important topic because brain development is the concern among the children of the lower
income group is found to be more in relation to the higher income grouped children. It is also
found that children of these families have lesser academic aspirations than the non-marginalized
population of Singapore. This issue is to be considered because it is a problem that arises from
the communication gap that early teachers face while reaching out to these Malay children. In
addition to this, it is important to consider the fact that the educational infrastructures of
Singapore in relation to the minority groups like the Malays are inadequate and not sufficient.
Moreover, it is also to be considered that the impact that these teachers make in developing the
cognitive capacity of the children are not sufficient. Hence, this research will propose finding the
impact of early teaching in the healthy development in mind and body. Therefore, it is expected
that detailed research would be conducted to find out the issue within a period of one year.

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Table of Contents
1.1 Background of the study........................................................................................................4
1.2 Problem statement.................................................................................................................4
1.3 Research rationale..................................................................................................................5
1.4 Research aims and objectives................................................................................................5
1.4 Theoretical framework...........................................................................................................6
1.5 Structure of the study.............................................................................................................6
1.6 Research question..................................................................................................................7
2. Literature Review........................................................................................................................7
2.1 The concept of and brain development initial years education.............................................7
2.2 The issue with the children of the Malay community in Singapore....................................10
2.3 Critical analysis of brain development and early teaching of the Malay children in
Singapore...................................................................................................................................12
3. Methodology..............................................................................................................................14
3.1. Philosophy of Research......................................................................................................14
3.2. Design of Research.............................................................................................................15
3.3. Method of Data Collection.................................................................................................16
3.4. Method of sampling as well as the size of the sample........................................................17
3.5. Analysis Technique for the Acquired Data........................................................................18
3.6 Ethical consideration in research.........................................................................................19
3.7 Study limitations..................................................................................................................19

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3.8 Expected outcomes..............................................................................................................20
References......................................................................................................................................22

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1.1 Background of the study
The development of brain for a child takes place at the adolescent phase (Berk, 2017).
Over 90 % of brain development happens during this period because it is in the state of brain
plasticity where it undergoes concrete changes (Bi et al., 2018). According to Berk (2017), early
teaching and the role of the parents have a positive impact on the brain development of the child.
Moreover, development occurs at the age of 1 or 2, and it continues till the adult age (Berk,
2017). However, the tender age is the most crucial part of the development of the brain (Bruer,
2011). The development of cognitive capacity and memory are the two most important factors of
the childhood where the impacts of the early teachers are important. According to Collins (2016),
the condition of the children especially from the lower income groups is severe compared to the
rest of the children of the higher income group. It is further argued by the author that there are
few other issues for consideration like the socio-economic growth, extreme poverty or unequal
employment are also important for the present state of these groups (Collins, 2016). Hence, it is
important to consider that their underachievement of these minority groups is not isolated rather
it is attached to their lower development of cognitive capacity and brain development of these
children (Berk, 2017). It is therefore important to consider that the issue does not reside with the
elderly population rather it is there within the foundation and the basic elementary education
where the issue resides (Bi et al., 2018).
1.2 Problem statement
According to Conkbayir (2015), the ability of cognition of the child develops at the
tender age of brain development, and this is not an isolated process rather there are other
influences of socialization, types of parenting, schooling of the children and most importantly the
impact of a good teacher. Since the ability of cognition of the children are higher at the tender

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age, the impact of the teacher is long-standing. It is found that the impacts of the inefficient
teachers are severe for a child as it might restrict the potentials which can impact the scope of the
child from realizing their potentials (Duchesne et al., 2018). It is found that an ineffective teacher
can impact the child’s growth in a severe way than any other issue of childhood (Eve Siu
LingChen et al., 2018). The issue is even severe for the children of lower income group because
they already have lesser opportunities in life than the rest of the population and this is one of the
reasons for their undergrowth persistently (Collins, 2016). It is also found that these children
from the lower income Malayan families have lesser aspiration in life for higher achievement
than the children of higher-income families (Guy et al., 2018). Hence, it is crucial to consider the
issue of impact by the early educators in shaping the brain development of the children.
1.3 Research rationale
There is a plethora of evidence showing the status of the Malay children in Singapore
especially from the lower income groups and how they fail to avail the better opportunities in
higher education. According to Collins (2016), it is estimated that a maximum number of under
development among the Malay children are because of the underachievement and
underdevelopment of their brain architecture during childhood(Berk, 2017). Hence, the purpose
of the research will be focused on the issue of the possible impact of early educators for the
overall development of the group of the Singapore Malay children from the lower income
grouped.
1.4 Aim and objectives of the research
This research proposes to highlight the issues and analyse the impact of the early
educators in the development of the brain architecture of the Malay underprivileged children in
Singapore. Hence, they are certain aims and objectives adopted for the purpose of the research.

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The research objectives are as follows:
1. Understanding the early years teaching methods and their impact on the children.
2. The link between brain development and the early teaching of the educators during
the initial years of a child’s life.
3. To suggest means to develop the ways for the enhanced development of the brain of
these underprivileged children of the Singaporean Malay families.
1.4 Theoretical framework
A theoretical framework is the blueprint of the research in a methodological way for
conducting the research (Choy, 2014). The inductive research method is adopted as the
framework here because inductive method helps to derive the knowledge to substantiate the
conclusion on the basis of derived data (Choy, 2014).There are researches which focus on the
inductive method because it helps to derive conclusions based on the premises undertaken in the
research. It will also help to infer data from different perspectives and general information
(Choy, 2014). The research will follow this framework as this approach provides enough scope
for exploring each issue with greater detail. This inductive research reasoning is taken as the
theoretical framework since it helps to derive knowledge from the observations and it also leave
scope for using multiple theories within the body of research.
1.5 Structure of the study
The research will be conducted by pointing out the broad issue of the topic and further
breaking it into smaller parts to highlight each theme for analysis of the issue. This will be
helpful to provide equal weight to each theme of the broader concept. The next part of the
research will be focused on the observation and finally the derivation base conclusions. The

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structure of the research will be to find out the Malay issue in Singapore with special reference to
the issue of the economic factor and how this is leading to the underdevelopment of the brain
among these children. The next part of the research is centered on the collection of data and their
analysis to arrive at a conclusion, and it is presented in the form of the expected outcome. The
aim of the research to follow this particular structure is to analyse the issue systematically and to
find the nuances of the same.
1.6 Research question
RQ1. What is the role of the infant teacher in the development of brain architecture of the
children coming from the lower income Malay families?
RQ2. What is the process of encouraging participation among children for the effective
development of the brain?
2. Literature Review
2.1 Brain development initial years education
The early years of childhood formulate the most critical phase in the life of an individual
(Hawley et al., 2015). The childhood period of the individual is highly important since most of
the brain development takes place during this phase. The thinking mechanism in individuals and
the nature of behavior is determined and modified in the adolescent period (Hawley et al., 2015).
The individual’s ability to memorize and the control over cognition is developed at this point in
the person’s life (Hodges et al., 2018). It can be said the family and schooling of the individual
also determines the abovementioned factors. One of the most crucial roles is played by the
teachers. This along with components such as hereditary factors and genome along with

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psychological factors has influence on learning to fulfil crucial roles of brain development in
children (Hodges et al., 2018). Thus, it can be said that the above-mentioned factors play a
crucial role in the upbringing and brain development of a child and also influence and determines
their growth in the future. The teacher’s understanding determines the brain development in a
person during the early days of their life (Klingberg, 2013). The role that they play can be
considered crucial because they hold the ability to influence, modify and restructure the
cognitive ability of the individuals(Mendaki.org.sg, 2019). Understanding regarding the method
used by teachers to restructure the cognitive ability of individuals can be used productively in
developing effective teaching and learning abilities (Fleer, 2018). The capability of the brain to
adapt and change with time with experiences can be termed as neuro-plasticity. Neuro-plasticity
is also known as the concept of brain plasticity. It is the ability of the brain of an individual to
adapt and change through varied experiences the individual had over their lifetime (Hodges et
al., 2018). The role that is played by a person’s teachers cannot be compared to any other
individual within the mental proximity of the individuals. Their importance cannot be
undermined as their impacton the individuals determine how they are going to turn out as a
person when they grow up. The knowledge of a person about a certain subject and scope of the
foundation of their personality is developed at early stages of education (Drew, 2010). Most
considerable growth in children is said to take place when they are aged under three (King,
2016). At the early ages, a child is subject to connection to more than million connections.
Connections are said to be established at every second in the early stage of life of a child. At this
age the delivery of a certain piece of information and the nature of response to such information
determines how the child is going to respond to such scenarios throughout their life (Drew,
2010). The foundation of the architecture of the brain flows a sequence that is considered as a

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bottom-up sequence. The same foundation that has been laid is said to be permanent and robust.
The network of systems in the brain of the child are determined by the newly formulated abilities
of a child (Mayesky et al., 2017). The shape of the bottom most framework of a certain piece of
information influences the following circuit that is present in the brain and the same modifies the
behavioral pattern of the individuals (Drew, 2010). Instances in which the child is affected
positively by any experience will affect their brain in the same manner to the same degree and
vice versa (Otto, 2015). As teacher act as the primary source through which children develop
new skill sets, the method of training that is used by them determine how they behave and react
to certain situations (Soon, 2016). It has been discoursed through empirical research
(Soon,2016), that a child’s behavior and reactions in conjunction to certain scenarios determined
the right wiring of the circuits that exists within their brain. At the early stages of development of
a child the importance of the role of a teacher cannot be stressed enough. Teachers are the
individuals that the children look up to, they are the source of motivation and inspiration of the
children. Teachers are the examples of perfect role models. They are the individuals who are
responsible for the children and they fulfil many roles together along with the most important
roles of teaching while watching over the children and communicating to them about what is
right and what is not right (Zhao et al., 2018). It is the role of the teacher that determines the
ability of a child to be engaged to think and rethink situations over and over again. It is the role
they play that determines a person’s ability to retrain their thinking and learning mechanism. The
teacher is said to be engaged in a phenomenon that is known as “whole brain teaching” (Soon,
2016). The prefrontal and the motor cortex of the brain are modified by the activities of a
teacher. The work of a teacher is more complex than one might think it to be. Their work
involves techniques through which the children become adept in using body lingual gestures that

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is characterized by subtle hand-arm movements and the teaching also shape up the ability of
person to produce attention seeking statements and other recognizable and differentiating factors.
As discoursed by the international mind, brain and education society, the role played by teachers
at early ages in the life of a child determines the process of cognition within them along with
social and cultural factors (Sharpe et al., 2019). It has been also argued that a child cannot
achieve to their full potential when they are under the influence of a bad teacher. Thus, it can be
understood that the role played by teachers during adulthood is much negligible as compared to
the role that they play in an individual’s childhood.
Fig: Brain Development during early childhood
Source: (Graham Scharf, 2019)
2.2The issue with the children of the Malay community in Singapore
There has been a lot of debate regarding the problems face by the Malay children in
Singapore (Mendaki.org.sg, 2019). However, one should understand the actual issue that exists
is much more complex than topics that are being debated. According to Li, (2018) the problem

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that is evident through the above -mentioned problem can be compiled into two terms. They are
said to be in transit from a state that can be considered as “organic solidarity” to the state of
“mechanic solidarity” (Mukhopadhaya, 2017). It has been discovered by the studies in the past
(Mukhopadhaya, 2017), that in Singapore, the Malay are treated as a minority in the country and
it was also found out that the achievement of the Malay people is considered negligible as
compared to the remaining part of the total Singapore population(Mendaki.org.sg, 2019). It was
found that the minorities were subject to under development in terms of education, they are
victims to drug abuse and their ability to attain social and economic growth is also negligible as
compared to the remainder of the population. The total community of Malay people and
particularly the children find themselves behind from their peers in terms of education and
achievement(Mendaki.org.sg, 2019). They are even lagging behind in business and other forms
of activities that are considered to be commercial irrespective of the degree of knowledge or
competence they have regarding their subject. It was found that only 56% of the Malay people
living in Singapore were influenced by the changes caused by modernization recently, the rate
which can be considered to be very slow if compared to the rest of the population (Sebastián,
2016). It is said that just a mere 9 % of the people have recognized that their situation has
prospered while the rest are still characterized by progressively slow growth (Sebastián, 2016).
The current positions of the people of the Malay community are being questioned by the
government and it is evident that the scenario is a result of the poverty that exists in the roots of
their community (Sebastián, 2016). People belonging to groups that are characterized by low
income often argue that the students of those communities have lower drive to achieve high
educational degrees if compared to the remainder of the Singapore population (Ren et al., 2018).
This has been identified as a grave concern of the Singapore community as a whole and the same