ABSTRACT

In order to develop deeper understandings of elite integration and pathways to power, scholars in the fields of sociology of education and professions have highlighted the need for research to examine the role of knowledge content in the educational backgrounds of governing elites. Complexity around governance due to multifaceted challenges posed by global health crises, demographic changes and climate change, has intensified this need. Through descriptive analyses of forty years of annual reporting data of Singapore’s public service commission, this article examines institutional stability and change in a national scholarship programme from a historical and sociological perspective. The findings illustrate modifications in the valorisation of knowledge acquired by future governing elites over time, with changes marked out by historical periods relating to nation-building, legitimising the elite, and attempts to ‘diversifying’ the elite. These findings provide insights on a specific case of state-sponsored mobility, while presenting implications for the role of travelling scholarships in facilitating the acquisition of knowledge, as local elites are schooled for governmental work. The text concludes with questions about how systems of sponsored mobility, built on transnational aspirations, might be reshaped due to current disruptions to international student mobility.

摘要

为了更深入地理解精英整合和权力途径，教育社会学和职业社会学领域的学者强调需要研究知识内容在统治精英教育背景中的作用。由于全球健康危机、人口变化和气候变化带来的多方面挑战，治理的复杂性加剧了这种需求。本文通过对新加坡公共服务委员会 40 年年度报告数据的描述性分析，从历史和社会学的角度审视了国家奖学金计划的制度稳定性和变化。研究结果表明，随着时间的推移，未来的统治精英所获得的知识价值会发生变化，与国家建设、精英合法化和精英“多元化”尝试相关的历史时期标志着变化。这些发现提供了关于国家资助流动的具体案例的见解，同时也说明了旅行奖学金在促进知识获取方面的作用，因为当地精英接受政府工作的教育。文本最后提出了一些问题，即建立在跨国愿望上的资助流动系统可能会因当前国际学生流动的中断而被重塑。同时展示了旅行奖学金在促进知识获取方面的作用的影响，因为当地精英接受政府工作的教育。文本最后提出了一些问题，即建立在跨国愿望上的资助流动系统可能会因当前国际学生流动的中断而被重塑。同时展示了旅行奖学金在促进知识获取方面的作用的影响，因为当地精英接受政府工作的教育。文本最后提出了一些问题，即建立在跨国愿望上的资助流动系统可能会因当前国际学生流动的中断而被重塑。