Of everything I learned over the course of this project, one of the most enrich- ing lessons was in understanding my own relations of ‘dependence’ on many others to bring this work to fruition.
Firstly, it has been a privilege to be guided by generous mentors. I thank Professor Arathi Sriprakash for her thoughtful critique, for helping me find my own academic voice and for showing genuine care and support throughout this process. It has been a great (and unexpected) blessing to be mentored by Professor Clive Dimmock. Thank you, Clive, for your friendship, mentoring and critical feedback. Thank you for long afternoons – ‘same place, same time’ – spent discussing education in Singapore, academic writing and the nature of academic life. Your insights across all these areas have been invaluable.
Professor Saravanan Gopinathan was a most gracious mentor, providing an academic ‘home’ for me at the HEAD Foundation while I conducted field- work in Singapore. It has been thrilling to learn from someone with so much experience and commitment to education in Singapore. I also thank Associate Professor Leonel Lim for intellectually stimulating conversations, and his care- ful theoretical and methodological critique.