Lead Project Principal Investigators
The Lead Project team oversees the operations of DREAMS and its 7 sub-projects.
Lead PI & Project 6 PI
Prof. Kenneth is Lien Foundation Chair Professor of Education (Psychology and Human Development) at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. He is also Dean, Education Research, as well as Centre Director of the Centre for Research in Child Development. Trained as a clinical psychologist and as an early interventionist, he has spent the past 20 years of experience working with children and persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Prof. Kenneth is leading/has led, as principal investigator, research projects with a combined quantum of over SGD$7 million. His research has focused on the development of children (especially children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and children from low-income families) examining how the home and school environments impact development.
Co-Lead PI & Project 1 PI, Project 2, 3, 5
Dr. Melvin Chan is Senior Education Research Scientist at the Office of Education Research (OER) and is affiliated with two research centres: Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP) and the Singapore Centre for Character and Citizenship. Education (SCCCE). As OER Assistant Dean of Knowledge Management (2019-2024), he directed matters related to research data management for secondary analysis, data curation and reuse. From 2014-2019, he was Managing Editor of NIE's flagship journal, Asia Pacific Journal of Education. He is currently Review Editor at Frontiers in Psychology. Dr. Chan's research interests are interdisciplinary, covering aspects of learning, motivation, future-readiness, youth development, and quantitative methodology. Among the topics that he has been invited to speak on locally and internationally are comparative research on student achievement, psychometric measurement, academic motivation, pedagogy and student outcomes, and future-ready learning. Dr. Chan likes to work with complex models and he is well-versed in a range of statistical methods that include structural equation, missing data designs, multilevel and longitudinal modeling, mixture (cluster) modeling, and Rasch models.
Co-Lead PI
Dr Trivina Kang is NIE's Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer and Senior Lecturer at the Policy, Curriculum and Leadership Academic Group. She obtained her Masters and PhD in Sociology from New York University under NIE’s Overseas Graduate Scholarship. At the NIE, Trivina has held various appointments related to teacher and leadership development. As Associate Dean, Professional and Leadership Development, she was responsible for NIE's in-service courses and programmes, as well as milestone leadership programmes (MLS, LEP, BEB). As Assistant Dean for Teacher Leadership, Trivina was responsible for the Teacher Leaders Programme 1&2 (TLP) for leaders in MOE's teaching track. Her work has allowed her to build extensive networks and partnerships in MOE and schools. A passionate adult educator, Trivina has taught undergraduate, graduate, and in-service courses in leadership, educational sociology and research methods. She is deeply privileged to have mentored school leaders over the past decade and to have been part of their leadership transformation journeys. Trivina uses coaching and leadership development tools (e.g., Leadership Circle Profile, Leadership Collective Assessment, Team Coaching) to support vertical and horizontal leadership development. She was awarded the NIE Excellence in Teaching Commendation Award in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018. Trivina's current research interests focus on the lived experiences of individuals in different contexts, specifically the experiences of school leaders. She has explored the roles of vice-principals in Singapore and is currently seeking to understand beginning principals and their leadership development needs and experiences. Trivina is also keenly interested in the developmental pathways of students and is co-Lead Principal Investigator in a large-scale longitudinal study to track students across 4 years of secondary school. She currently serves as Associate Editor for Asia Pacific Journal of Education.
Co-Lead PI, Project 2, 4, 7
Broadly, I study achievement motivation and student well-being. My research looks into individual differences and social factors to understand what motivates student with a focus on educational and well-being outcomes such as test anxiety. I am also interested in taking a cross-cultural perspective to my research areas. I use both quantitative and qualitative methods in my work to address pertinent issues in education and student well-being.
Sub-Project Principal Investigators
Each of the 7 sub-projects cover investigate a key area of adolescent development
Project 2 PI, Project 1
Gregory Arief D. Liem is an Associate Professor at Psychology and Child & Human Development Academic Group, National Institute of Education (NIE), an institute of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Dr. Liem's research interest lies in the area of educational psychology with a special focus on student motivation, engagement, and well-being. He views these substantive issues by adopting a sociocultural lens and a quantitative approach.
Project 3 PI, Project 7
Dr. Imelda Santos Caleon is an Assistant Dean on Partnership at the Office of Education Research and Senior Education Research Scientist and Academic Lead on Well-being at the Science of Learning in Education Centre, National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She is experienced in conducting studies using both experimental and mixed-methods research methodologies. Her main research interests are in the areas of well-being, metacognition, and social networks.
Project 4 PI
Rebecca P. Ang is a Professor at the Psychology and Child & Human Development Academic Group, NIE. She obtained her PhD in School Psychology (specializing in clinical child psychology) from Texas A & M University, USA. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist in the USA, and a Registered Psychologist in Singapore. Professor Ang is a well-cited researcher whose scholarly work has been published in top-tier journals. Her interdisciplinary expertise areas include (1) child/adolescent aggression, delinquency and antisocial behavior including interventions; (2) scale development and validation of measures assessing children/adolescents' attitudinal, behavioral and socioemotional adjustment, and (3) multisystemic support to promote the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Professor Ang enjoys teaching and uses learner-centered pedagogies to engage students to achieve meaningful outcomes in their learning journey. She is also active in public service, serves on various advisory boards of government ministries as well as social service agencies. Some of her previous awards include the International Council of Psychologists Seisoh Sukemune/Bruce Bain Early Career Research Award, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore Foundation Education Award, the NTU Nanyang Education Award (College), and the Singapore National Day Award - The Public Administration Medal (Bronze).
Project 5 PI, Project 4
Fannie Khng Kiat Hui is the Deputy Centre Director and Senior Research Scientist at the Centre for Research in Child Development (CRCD), National Institute of Education (NIE). She received her B. Soc. Sci (Honours in Psychology) from the National University of Singapore and PhD in Psychology from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Her work is situated at the interface between cognitive psychology and education, focused on executive functioning (EF) and self-regulation. She is particularly interested in inhibitory control and attention in children and adolescents, their measurement, and how they contribute to other aspects of development such as academic achievement and cognitive-emotional self-regulation.
Project 7 PI, Project 6
Asst/Professor Azilawati Jamaludin is faculty at the Learning Sciences and Assessment Academic Group at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She is also Assistant Centre Director at NIE’s Science of Learning in Education Centre, overseeing Human Potential and Translation. As a Learning Scientist, she conducts research in the areas of Science of Learning, Games and Learning, and Educational Innovations for Learning. She teaches graduate courses in Neuroscience, Technology and Learning, Educational Neuroscience, and Digital Game-based Learning. She oversees the Brain Literacy for Educators and Applications of Educational Neuroscience program at the degree level.
Asst/Professor Azi has worked on large-scale Science of Learning projects to investigate at-risk learners’ struggles in learning and designing neural-informed games to remediate their learning difficulties. Apart from collecting behavioural, psychometrics, and social data, she uses portable cutting-edge brain imaging techniques such as Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess learners’ brain functions. She is also Co-Principal Investigator for multiple other projects investigating Learning for at-risk students. She supervises students ranging from junior college, pre-university students to undergraduates and Masters and PhD students in the area of games and using Science of Learning methodologies in education. She is also Research and Academic Mentor to NTU undergrads, serves as Consultant for game-based learning units and Expert Panel Member for optimizing human potential at the national level. She is registered with the British Psychological Society with qualifications in Educational testing and Ability assessments.
Co-PIs & Collaborators
MOE Project Director:
- NG Siow Chin (MOE)
Project 1:
- CHAN Wai Meng Jeffrey (MOE)
Project 2:
- LIU Woon Chia (NIE)
- Marilyn LIM So San (MOE)
- LIU Wei Cheng (MOE)
- Jenny CHUA (MOE)
- Tom SNIJDERS (Oxford University & University of Groningen)
- Christian STEGLICH (University of Groningen)
Project 4:
- WANG Chee Keng, John (NIE)
- LIM Choon Guan (IMH)
- KOM Mun Yen Dennis (MOE)
Project 5:
- SUN He (NIE)
- Gerald WANG Zijian (MOE)
- GOH Kok Yew Shaun (NIE)
- LIM Choon Guan (IMH)
- Mariam ALJUNIED (MOE)
- Iris YU (MOE)
- FEE Hui Fen, Victoria (MOE)
Project 7:
- TAN Aik Lim (NIE)
- Andy KHONG Wai Hoong (NTU)
- HENG Chiang Wee (MOE)
International Advisory Panel
The University of Texas at Austin
University College London
Oxford University
Research Team
Lead Project:
- Roodra Veera (Project Management)
- Lee Chiew Lim (Survey Instrumentation)
- Divya Prabha Chandrasekaran (Data)
- Emily Chan (Communications)
- Janelle Ng (Qualitative)
- Olivia Chew (Qualitative)
- Jessica Zhou (Qualitative)
- Muhammad Azamuddin Bin Aman (Qualitative)
- Muamina Khudsia (Qualitative)
Project 1 & 2:
- Low Jia Min
- Nur Qamarina Binte Ilham
- James Elicano
Project 4 & 6:
- Wong Jin Nen
- Aeriel Lin Jing
Project 5:
- Dr. Wang Ying
- Ashley Chua
- Sim Chen Xing
- Shawn Lim
- Farina Begum Amsah
Project 7:
- Sandeep Singh
Past Team Members
Thank you to our past team members!
Johan Wong, Cameron Kheng Jin, Joanne Lim Ting En, Dr. Wong Zi Yang, Monika Balaya, Chen Shan, Reena Teo, Liyana Binte Safii
