Montfort 4E Social Studies Prelim 2024 QP

Name: ______________________________ ( ) Class: _______ Secondary 4 Express / 5 Normal (Academic) HUMANITIES 2260/01 2261/01 Paper 1 Social Studies 16 August 2023 (Fri) 10.20 am 1 hour 45 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write in dark blue or black pen. Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. Section A Answer all questions. Section B Answer both questions. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question. This document consists of 7 printed pages and 1 blank page. Setter: Ms Jamie Low MONTFORT SECONDARY SCHOOL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2024

2 4E5N Prelim 2024 Section A (Source-Based Case Study) Answer all questions. Exploring Citizenship and Governance Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources which you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge of the issue to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 Study Source A. What is the attitude of women towards the Baby Bonus scheme ? Explain your answer using details from the source. [5] 2 Study Sources B and C. How similar are Sources B and C? Explain your answer. [7] 3 Study Sources D and E. Does Source D surprise you about what Source E said about Singaporeans’ attitudes towards having children? Explain your answer. [7] 4 Study Source F. Does this source prove that it is impossible to improve birth rates? Explain your answer. [6] 5 ‘Financial incentives are the best way to manage declining birth rates.’ Using sources in this case study, explain how far you would agree with this statement. [10]

3 4E5N Prelim 2024 [Turn over How challenging is it to manage declining birth rates? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions. Birth rates have decreased worldwide. Factors contributing to this problem include economic uncertaint ies, changing views towards marriage and parenthood, delayed marriages, career aspiration s and work-life balance . A reduced birth rate can cause serious problems in society such as an ageing population , which can severely strain social services such as the healthcare system. Declining birth rates also means there will be labour shortages which can harm businesses and the economy. With a shrinking tax- paying population, it also means the government will have difficulties collecting tax revenue to take care of the country. Governments around the world have been trying to encourage their citizens to give birth more. Measures include providing financial incentives to parents of young children, implementing family-friendly policies at workplaces that allow working parents to sp end time with their children, encouraging fathers to play a more active role as care-givers and changing citizens’ mindsets about the importance of marriage and family. Study the following sources to find out how challenging it is to manage declining birth rates. Source A: From an article on the Baby Bonus Scheme, published on Channel NewsAsia website, 2023. The Baby Bonus scheme was implemented by the government to encourage young parents to have more children. Parents will receive a cash gift between $8000 to $12000 upon the birth of the child. If parents deposit money into their child’s Child Development Account (CDA), the government will also match their deposits dollar -by- dollar, up to $18000. Some women were happy with the additional financial support. School fees at a government-supported childcare center would typically cost $500 a month while a private one can exceed S$1,000. Thus, many young parents have put aside money in their child’s Child Development Account (CDA) to take advantage of the government's matching of savings. However, some mothers feel that the Baby Bonus is generous but useless. While they will be getting free cash, it is not what working mothers need the most. Many working mothers work 10 -hour days but still have to cope with the demands of child -rearing once they reach home. The lack of workplace support in the form of flexible hours or the chance to work from home have turned them away from child-birth. Women would also like to see their husbands playing a more supportive role as well. Traditional mindsets about parenting roles need to change to encourage more women to give birth.

4 4E5N Prelim 2024 Source B: A cartoon on managing birth rates in Singapore, published in The Straits Times, July 2015. Source C: From a report on how different countries attempted to raise birth rates, published on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) website, May 2021. Over nine years, the small Japanese town of Nagi-cho managed to double its birth rate from 1.4 to 2.8 children per woman with an extensive scheme of family friendly policies. Families get baby bonuses and children allowances. In Korea, researchers at the University of Seoul found that fertility rates increased when men helped out more at home. She studied families with one child and found that when men did one more hour a week of housework at home, it was related to a significant increase in the chances that that family would have a second child. Sweden’s fertility rates also increased in the 2000s. Mothers and fathers are offered generous leave after having a baby. Fathers take as much as 30% of the number of days of parental leave that mothers do. They are heavily involved and take the main responsibility for the child for the first year and a half of their child’s life.

5 4E5N Prelim 2024 [Turn over Source D: Comments made by a Singaporean published on The Straits Times Forum, Dec 2020. Some women would quit their jobs to take care of their children but others would not. When making decisions on whether to have children, it all boils down to attitude towards one’s career and personal choice. Family-oriented women are more likely than career-oriented women to be encouraged by paid maternity leave and monetary incentives to have more children as it allows them to spend time with their newborns without losing their income. For career-oriented women, one -time financial incentives will not entice them to make the leap into motherhood. What they want is time to build their career and not have their career advancements stalled due to the demands of being a working parent. Society’s mindset about what makes for a fulfilling life has changed. If we want birth rates to increase, we must take into account the concerns of different women. There is no one-size fits all solution. Source E: Speech by Mr Alex Yam, Member of Parliament (MP) for Marsiling -Yew Tee GRC, April 2016. Since 2001, we have committed billions of dollars into the Baby Bonus Scheme. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt, money isn’t the motivating factor. In fact, I am uncomfortable even with the term Baby Bonus. The baby itself is the bonus, a bonus from a happy marriage that forms the basis for joy and hope in family life. The monetary bonuses help but can never be the motivation for having children. In the past, it was natural for young people to get married, buy a house, have children. It was a rite of passage and just what wa