Heng Tang Tang (邢丹丹) completed her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. With a B.A. in Geography (University College, London) and M.A. in International Educational Development (Teachers College), she is fascinated by how people learn in and navigate through different environments. A recurrent theme in her research is the importance of sociocultural contexts - in particular, how sociocultural contexts play a part in shaping the values, motivations, and behaviors of diverse learners, and how learners possess agency in adapting their behaviours and values to different contexts. For example, she has studied how Chinese low-income immigrant preschoolers and international Chinese undergraduates navigate schooling in the U.S. Tang’s research on Chinese undergraduate students was featured in Inside Higher Education, 星岛日报 (Sing Tao Daily) and 羊城晚报 (yang cheng wan bao). In recognition for her work, she has been awarded the Teachers College Provost Office Doctoral Fellowship and the Teachers College Dean’s Doctoral Research Fellowship. Tang was also conferred the Comparative and International Education Society’s Study Abroad and International Students SIG Early Career Award in 2019 and the NIE Excellence in Research Award in 2020.
Tang’s current research examines how Singapore teachers interpret and implement learner-centred approaches borrowed from abroad, like differentiated instruction, and how contexts shape the opportunities and constraints teachers face. Concurrently, she studies how teachers engage in teaching practices addressing learner diversity and equity in Singapore schools. Her research findings are integrated in the Masters-, executive-, and professional-level courses she teaches, like MCT913 Differentiating Curriculum and Teaching for Diverse Learners and MLS013 Leading Differentiated Instruction in Schools. Tang was awarded the NIE Excellence in Teaching Commendation Award in 2019.
Tang’s work has always revolved around education, be it in the non- or for-profit world. Locally, she taught Geography in secondary schools in Singapore, prior to joining the Singapore Ministry of Education. At the Ministry, she oversaw the national Geography curriculum for gifted students and provided professional development support to teachers. Overseas, she consulted for Plan China and the United Nations Development Program in the area of international educational development. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Tang designed curricula for Edison Learning and Amplify Education in the United States. During her doctorate, she was involved in a large-scale curriculum evaluation project with the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching.