Your Role
The DREAMS research team sincerely thanks you, your child, and your child’s teachers for sharing about what it’s like to be a secondary school student in Singapore. Without you, this study wouldn’t be possible.
What can I expect for my child as a DREAMS participant?
- Your child will be allocated time during school hours* to complete 2 surveys per year throughout your secondary education. They will receive a $10 voucher the following year for completing the surveys as a thank you from us.
- Your child may be invited for additional follow-up interview sessions
What is my role as a parent?
- You will also be invited to complete 1 annual survey which will be sent through your child’s school*.
- You may be invited for additional follow-up interview sessions.
What else can I/my child do as a DREAMS participant?
- Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for regular project updates and findings.
- Join our parent webinars
- Read more about DREAMS here
* Note: If your child is participating in Study 5 of DREAMS (which involves the participants of the SKIP and SKIP-Up cohorts), surveys will either be sent directly to the email you provided on the consent form or delivered to you as hardcopy.
2025 Overview
Term 1
Parent Survey (Year 2 – all parents)
- Parents will be invited to complete a survey via email or through your child’s school
Student interviews (by invitation)
- Some students may be invited to complete additional surveys and/or attend a follow-up interview session
- Parent consent will be obtained before any interviews
Term 2 - 3
Student survey & interviews
- Students will complete 2 surveys in school
- Some students may be invited to complete additional surveys and/or attend a follow-up interview session (additional tokens of appreciation will be given)
Parent Focus Group Discussions
- Some parents may be invited to complete additional surveys and/or attend a follow-up focus group discussion (additional tokens of appreciation will be given)
Parent Webinar (TBC)
Term 4
Parent Survey (Year 3 – all parents)
- Parents will be invited to complete a survey via email or through your child’s school
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DREAMS benefit me/my child?
Your child
• Being part of something larger that will influence future policy and practice
• Being exposed to issues that may be important for adolescents
• Being in a larger community of adolescents
You
• Contribute to knowledge
• Access to experts
• Connection to other parents
Society
•Contribute to key issues in society pertaining to adolescents
•Findings are shared with policy makers
Will I get surveys too?
If your child is a participant in our study, you will be invited to an annual online survey and may be invited to additional surveys, interviews and/or focus groups.
You will receive these invitations either through your child’s school or directly to your email (if you have previously provided it to us).
When will you share your findings?
How are you protecting participants’ privacy/data?
The DREAMS research team takes our responsibility as guardians of participants’ information very seriously. We have several procedures in place to keep your data and privacy secure and protected.
DREAMS has approval and oversight from the NTU Institutional Review Board (IRB), ensuring compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). The NTU-IRB ensures the protection of human subjects involved in research studies by maintaining the highest levels of research ethics and integrity.
Your participation in this research will be kept confidential. Identifying information (e.g., name, last 4 characters of NRIC, e-mail address) will be asked to ensure the accuracy of our records, for linking of data collected at different time points, and for contacting you. Identifying information is removed and replaced with a random numeric ID to ensure anonymity before it is transferred to our research team for analysis, where everyone’s answers are combined and reported as aggregates.
The findings of this study may be reported in scientific presentations and reports, as well as social and broadcast media. Your identity will NOT be reflected or disclosed in these presentations, reports, and publications.
Who is funding/conducting this study?
This study is run by the National Institute of Education commissioned by the Ministry of Education
What happens if I don’t complete the surveys?
Opting out of any surveys will not affect your relationship with the National Institute of Education or Ministry of Education or impact any ongoing assessment/grades. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer.
Why is my child a part of this study?
Your child was invited to this study either as a part of the 2023 Secondary 1 cohort of one of the 28 schools selected by MOE for this study, or as a previous participant of the SKIP/SKIP(-UP) study.
What is a longitudinal cohort study?
A longitudinal cohort study is a research project where we observe and gather information from a group of people over an extended period, like several years. Our goal is to understand how students’ experiences and choices shape their lives as they progress through secondary school and beyond.
