Dr Mathew Mathews (马修) is Head of the IPS Social Lab, a centre for social indicator research and a Senior Research Fellow in the Society and Culture Department at the Institute of Policy Studies. To date, Mathews has been involved in over forty research projects, most of them relating to issues in societal cohesion. These have included research using both quantitative and qualitative methods on areas such as race, religion, immigrant integration, family, ageing and poverty.

Mathews also studies the impact of social programmes on social issues and has been involved in a number of evaluations on the usefulness of various government initiatives. He has taught courses on social policy and has published in a range of academic and media outlets.

Mathews is well involved in the community, and currently sits on the advisory boards of OnePeople.sg and Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing. He also is a Research Advisor to the Ministry of Social and Family Development and is part of the VWOs - Charities Capability Fund Panel and Families for Life Council. He was formerly President of Alive Community Network.

Research Interests[]

Race
Religion and immigrant relations
Social policies on family
Ageing and poverty
Social service provision

Publications[]

Mathew, M., Tay, M., Selvarajan, S. (2019). Faultlines in Singapore: Public Opinion on their Realities, Management & Consequences. IPS Working Paper No.37.
Mathew, M., Lim, L., Selvarajan, S. (2019). IPS-OnePeople.sg Indicators of Racial and Religious Harmony: Comparing results from 2018 and 2013. IPS Working Papers No.35.
Mathew, M. & Lim, L. (2019). Social Equity in Singapore. In Morgen Johansen (ed) Social Equity in the Asia-Pacific Region (p.215-233).London:Palgrave Macmillan
Mathew, M. (2019). Pentecostalism in Singapore: History, Adaptation and Future In Austin, D, Grey, J & Lewis, P Asia Pacific Pentecostalism (p. 271-294) Leiden: Brill
Mathew, M., Lim, L., Selvarajan, S. (2019). Religion, morality and conservatism in Singapore. IPS Working Papers No.34.

Op-eds/Commentaries[]

Mathew, M., & Pereira, S.N. (2020, Feb 8). Commentary: Protecting public health is key in novel coronavirus fight but we must also tackle xenophobia. Channel NewsAsia.
Mathew, M., & Tay, M. (2019, Nov 20). How should Singapore go about having religious discourse on social issues, especially contentious ones?. TODAY.
Mathew, M., & Pereira, S.N. (2019, Oct 16). Commentary: Challenging racism starts in the family. Channel NewsAsia.
Mathew, M., & Teo, K.K. (2019, Sep 5). What's next for pro-parenthood measures? Focus on work culture. The Straits Times.
Mathew, M., & Tay, M. (2019, Aug 1). Why Singapore needs stronger safeguards against rise of religious and identity politics. TODAY.

Conference Participation and Presentations/Speeches[]

Presenter, "Uncovering parents' mindsets: Schools, Stress and Support", at IPS Forum on Parents and Schooling, Singapore, 31 August 2017.
Invited Keynote Speaker, “Overview of Singapore families”, at Social Service Partners Conference 2015 on Supporting Families Together, Singapore, 22 May 2015.
Opening Presentation, “Insights from IPS survey of race, religion, and language”, at Singapore Perspectives 2014 on Differences, Singapore, 2 January 2014.
Presenter, “Challenges and coping of single Indians mothers — Findings from Project Athena”, at Eleventh Family Research Network (FRN) Forum on Home Alone — Life After Divorce in Singapore, Singapore, 28 April 2014.
Presenter, ”Indicators of racial and religious harmony”, at the Institute of Policy Studies-OnePeople.sg Forum on Indicators of Racial and Religious Harmony, Singapore, 11 September 2013.

Courses taught[]

Social Policy and Planning, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.
Social Psychology, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.
Research Methods, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.
Making Sense of Society, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.

Awards[]

Friend of MSF Award (2016). Awarded by Ministry of Social and Family Development

Committees/Directorships[]

Council Member, Families for Life
Panel Member, LTA Family Friendly Advisory Panel
National Education Review Committee, Ministry of Education
Research Advisor, Ministry of Social and Family Development
Member, VWOs-Charities Capability Fund Panel, National Council of Social Services
Advisory Panel, Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing
Board Member, and Chairperson, Resource and Public Education Committee, OnePeople.sg
President, Alive Community Network
Advisory Board, Journal of Intercultural Studies

Contact[]

DID: +65 6601 1416
Fax: +65 6235 0308
Email: mathew.mathews@nus.edu.sg
Office Location: 20 Evans Road, Singapore 259365

References[]

Mathew Mathews, Faculty, Our People, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy [1].
Mathew Mathews, LinkedIn profile[2].

Acknowledgements[]

This article was written by Roy Tan.

Mathew Mathews

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