Research and
Insights
Research projects have been an integral part of our practice as an organisation. CfBT has conducted research projects with the primary aim of ensuring best practices in English language teaching and improving educational outcomes.
2005 – 2008: SCOPE (Success at Cambridge O Level Public Examinations)
Overview
The SCOPE project, launched in April 2006, aimed to improve English O Level results in government schools. The initiative set a short-term target of 700 credit grades by November 2006 and a three-year goal of 1,000 credits by 2008. The project successfully surpassed these targets, with significant improvements in the number and quality of credit grades. It has also contributed to raising overall English standards and was considered for expansion into other subjects. One of the many impacts was a significant reduction in ungraded student work.
Key Results
Target Achievement:
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- Initial target: 700 credits in 2006; achieved 856 credits.
- By 2007: Increased to 1,234 credits.
- By November 2008: Reached 1,424 credits, surpassing the 1,000-credit goal.
Quality Improvement:
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- A grades nearly doubled from 2006 to 2008.
- B grades increased by over 60%.
Teacher Contributions:
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- CfBT teachers taught 25% of English O Level students in government schools.
- 40% of all credit grades were achieved by students taught by CfBT teachers.
2012- 2013: Bilingual Education In Brunei
In 2012–2013, a research study was conducted by the University of Oxford to examine the evolution of Brunei’s approach to bilingual education and the role of CfBT (as part of Education Development Trust, EDT) in promoting educational change. Read the report and the findings on EDT’s website.
2016- 2019: Literacy and Numeracy Coaching Programme (LNCP)
The Brunei Darussalam Ministry of Education (MoE) has partnered with Education Development Trust (EDT) (branded in Brunei as CfBT Brunei) to implement the Literacy and Numeracy Coaching Programme (LNCP). This programme is key to supporting the MoE with achieving its strategic objectives as part of the Wawasan 2035 programme of delivering transformational change in the teaching of literacy and numeracy across schools in Brunei. The LNCP’s strategic goals are directly aligned to the three strategic goals of Wawasan 2035:
- High quality English & Mathematics teaching
- All students highly numerate and literate in English
- A system empowered to deliver sustained improvement in literacy and numeracy
The EDT/MoE LNCP contract is for a period of three years with the overarching objective of the programme being to deliver systemic improvement in the quality of literacy and numeracy teaching in Bruneian schools by building the capacity within the MoE to enable the system to continue to drive transformational change during the sustain phase of the programme.
The LNCP was designed as three distinct phases:
- Inception – this commenced in September 2016 and ran until 31st December 2016
- Implementation – which commenced 3rd January 2017 and ran until 30th June 2019
- Sustain – which commenced in July 2019 under the direction of the MoE and will continue to support Brunei to achieve its Wawasan 2035 strategic goals
2021 – 2023: ELPP (English Language Peer Partnership) Programme
As part of the ELPP, Jennyfer Townsend and Alisa Gin, Co-Directors of CfBT’s English Language Teaching Project, conducted research into the effectiveness of Lesson Study as a teacher professional development approach. The research aimed to explore whether Lesson Study’s peer-collaborative nature can effectively address context-specific challenges and promote changes in local knowledge and practices. The focus of the research was on a national-scale implementation of Lesson Study among 184 expatriate English teachers at 134 local government schools. An article about this research was published on Chartered College of Teaching in January 2023.
In 2023, the focus was on adaptive practices and differentiation. Selected CfBT teachers acted as Peer Mentors, guiding Bruneian teachers through collaborative lesson planning, observation, and reflection.