PISA and high-performing education systems: explaining Singapore’s education success

Singapore’s remarkable performance in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has placed it among the world’s high-performing education systems (HPES). In the literature on HPES, its ‘secret formula’ for education success is explained in terms of teacher quality, school leadership, system characteristics and educational reform. This article offers an alternative explanation for the education success of Singapore and, in so doing, questions the basic assertions of the HPES literature and, in particularly, the use of PISA results as the prime indicator of the educational performance of a school system. The explanation is informed by a historical perspective on the development of the Singapore education system and based upon a body of empirical findings on the nature of pedagogical practice in classrooms, both of which are vital for understanding the educational performance of Singapore’s education system. The article concludes by addressing the implications of this analysis for educational policy borrowing.     

Pre-service preparation of mathematics teachers in the Singapore education system

The National Institute of Education is the only teacher education institution in Singapore and all pre-service teachers for the Singapore education system are trained at this one Institution. There are several programs for the pre-service preparation of teachers for the various levels of schools and the preparation of mathematics teachers varies between the programs. Within the context of a national educational system which is very centrally controlled, teacher education programs have changed much over the past decade, constantly seeking improvement, not only in response to environmental changes but also to be leaders of change in the educational field. This chapter describes the teacher education programs of Singapore with respect to mathematics teachers, their pedagogical training and their mathematical education.     

新加坡精英教育培养体系及其经验借鉴

精英教育是一种以培养社会精英人才为目的的高质量、高标准的分流教育,也是一种差别化的可以体现教育公平的教育。新加坡通过采取精英教育促进了经济的飞速发展,可以说新加坡经济的快速崛起和其独特的精英教育培养体系有着很大的关系。从本质上来说,新加坡精英教育体系是一种通过分流考试选拔精英并致力于经济社会发展的服务型精英教育培养体系。中国的国情和新加坡有很多相似之处,我国教育大众化背景下仍然需要再实行精英教育,但是我们的精英教育存在许多问题,通过研究新加坡精英教育的培养体系,借鉴其成功之处可以给我们的精英教育带来启示,提高我国的教育实力,促进创新型人才的培养和经济社会的发展。     

中国与新加坡高等职业技术教育的比较

本文试图从政府对职业教育的重视程度、职业技术教育的结构体系、专业设置过程以及教学模式几个方面比较中国和新加坡两国高等职业技术教育,以便使我们能够更好地认识新加坡职业教育的发展状况,借鉴其成功的经验,从而促使我国职业教育更好地发展。     

新加坡的精英教育

新加坡1979年完成了中小学课程改革以后，经过不断的研究、探索、改进，形成了目前精英教育的办学特色。新加坡经济的高速发展与教育的不断创新有十分密切的关系。文章在介绍新加坡教育改革情况的同时，着力分析新加坡精英教育的内涵和特点，并对中、新两国教育进行了比较研究，从中寻求有益的启示。     

Healthy competition and unsound comparison: reforming educational competition in Singapore

It is frequently claimed that the ‘competition state’ responds to external competition by making competition increasingly central to its internal processes as well. This article discusses education reform in Singapore as departing from the opposite position. In Singapore ‘excessive’ competition in education is now targeted by policy-makers as a major obstacle to making Singapore education competitive in the global ‘knowledge economy’. Nevertheless, the consequence of education reform does not seem to be a reduction of educational competition as such, but rather a transition from an ‘academic’ to a ‘holistic’ form of competition, raising new questions of educational equity and fairness.     

The purposes outdoor education does,could and should serve in Singapore

This paper discusses the purposes that outdoor education does, could and should serve in Singapore. Gert Biesta’s conceptualisation of three functions of education is adapted to frame deliberations on the purposes of outdoor education in Singapore’s socio-political and educational milieu. The author suggests that outdoor education in Singapore could and should give high priority to serving three educational purposes; namely, building resilience, building emotional bonds with the place that constitutes Singapore, and building ecological literacy. In pursuing such purposes, outdoor education in Singapore might lessen the gap between the educational outcomes it currently produces and those it could achieve in the future.     

Foresight via Hindsight: Prospects and Lessons for Inclusion in Singapore

This article presents a critical appraisal of the prospects for inclusion of students with disabilities within the mainstream school system in Singapore. Features of the dual system of mainstream and special education are discussed with specific reference to the gaps found between and within both systems that militate against inclusion becoming part of the mainstream educational landscape. The lessons learned through reviewing the other articles included in this special issue on several Asia-Pacific countries that have embraced inclusive education in their educational policies and initiatives inform possible future efforts and directions in promoting inclusion in Singapore.     

关于我国发展技术本科的策略研究

为适应我国进入WTO后对于培养技术精英人才的要求,发展较长学制的高等职业教育———技术本科,已势在必行。发展技术本科,可先从职业教育体系内部的“专升本”起步,即在部分经济发达地区先选择一些较为成熟的高职专业,依托普通本科高校二级学院招收现有高职高专毕业生举办二年制技术本科。对于这一策略思考,新加坡筹建“强调技术性”的第四所大学为理工学院毕业生开辟“提升知识和技能的渠道”的新信息,从一个方面为之提供了借鉴参考的基础;而今年起即将面临的专科高职毕业生就业高峰,又从另一方面使之成为可在一定程度上缓解矛盾的应急措施。     

新加坡的职业教育研究

新加坡的教育体系中,承载职业教育的机构有很多,包括普通工艺课程的中学、工艺教育学院、国立理工学院、大学本科职业教育。新加坡职业教育的特色主要包括设立专门的机构,指导职业教育;实行教学工厂培养模式,推行产学结合;推动工读双轨计划,注重技能培养等。     

Singapore’s educational policy through the prism of student voice: recasting students as co-agents of educational change and ‘disrupting’ the status quo?

This paper examines the implementation of Singapore’s landmark policy, ‘Thinking Schools, learning Nation’ (TSLN), in developing ‘thinking students’ through the prism of student voice. In the context of twenty-first century education and the growing importance of student voice in education, this paper argues that the time might be right to ‘disrupt’ Singapore’s education status quo and incorporate meaningful student voice in education policies. Instead of perceiving students as mere subjects of educational policy enactment, and seeing policy as something that is done to them, it should be reconceptualised as something which is done with them; importantly, students should be recast as key co-agents of educational change, consistent with TSLN’s reconceptualization of learners as ‘thinking students’. Basing its arguments on findings from a qualitative case study of students’ perceptions and schooling experiences of critical thinking in TSLN, this paper considers the case for the inclusion of significant student voice in Singapore’s educational policy reforms. It fills gaps in research on student voices in Singapore’s educational reforms and TSLN’s research from students’ perspective. The paper suggests that the inclusion of student voice in educational reform might be the next landmark step in ‘disrupting’ its educational landscape after the ‘big bang’ of TSLN.     

Fourth way in action: translation of research into policy and practice

This article discusses the relationship between policy, research and practice in the Singapore education landscape in response to Hargreaves and Shirley’s arguments of Fourth Way principles of educational change. Examples of recent policy developments in Singapore are used to illustrate the interaction between judicial uses of research data and pragmatic knowledge of classroom practices and stakeholders’ interest in policy formulation in Singapore. It is advocated that a key ingredient of the success of Singapore’s education system is the unity of vision and mission of the people behind policy, research and practice.     

新加坡基础华文教学模式特点分析

近年来,随着国外把汉语作为第二语文教学的不断发展,对其教学模式的研究也日益深入。新加坡是国外将汉语作为第二语文教学的少数国家之一,教学模式具有一定的代表性。其以学为中心的综合教学法的实施,量身定制的单元教学模式,都值得我们研究关注。     

Meritocracy,elitism, and egalitarianism: a preliminary and provisional assessment of Singapore's primary education review

Meritocracy functions in Singapore as the key principle of governance and educational distribution. However, the concept of meritocracy itself contains a number of inherent contradictions, most evidently witnessed in the tension between its egalitarian and elitist strands. This tension is documented in the recommendations of Singapore's recent primary education review, already accepted by the Ministry of Education and to be implemented in the coming years. This article considers these recommendations against the backdrop of a tentative movement towards egalitarianism in educational distribution. Specifically, it provides a preliminary and provisional assessment of how far they would go towards providing for greater educational equity and, therefore, in recovering the ideology of meritocracy in the nation-state.     

The marketization of education in Singapore: prospects for inclusive education

The marketization of education in Singapore has produced features within the regular education system that emphasize school autonomy and competition among schools. While the intention of these initiatives is to foster educational excellence, there is evidence that schools are under increasing pressure to attract students who are assets in terms of contributing to higher rankings in school league tables. At the same time, current government rhetoric claims to emphasize a valuing of difference, the ability to relate to diversity and social cohesion. This paper discusses key features of the marketization of education in Singapore and the associated prospects for inclusive education. It concludes by suggesting several policy changes that are needed before any progress can be made towards a more inclusive education system.     

新加坡南洋理工学院办学经验的启示

人才培养模式是高职院校人才培养工作的研究热点，本文通过对新加坡南洋理工学院的办学方法和经验的深入剖析，针对我国高职院校的办学实际情况，提出以构建学校本位的实践教学支撑体系和管理体系的改革之路，以此突破现有以综合性大学为蓝本的高职院校行政管理体系所带来的困境。     

新加坡案例:拓展国际教育 建设世界校园

1980年代中期以来,新加坡开始关注作为知识服务产业的国际教育服务。1990年代后期,新加坡政府将国际教育服务作为教育产业纳入了国民经济发展之中。教育服务市场的发展,奠定了新加坡实现"世界校园"梦想的基础。     

"入世"后新加坡高等教育发展的实践探索

作为较早加入世界贸易组织的成员国之一,新加坡并未签署开放教育市场的协议,未作出教育承诺.然而,它却积极顺应经济全球化、教育国际化的要求,在实践中不断推动本国高等教育的国际化,大力提高高等教育的质量和水平,新加坡的诸多举措与作出教育承诺的国家并无本质区别.本文研究了入世后新加坡采取的一系列高等教育发展措施,探讨了其高等教育发展的成功经验,以期为入世后中国高等教育的发展提供些许有益的启示.     

新加坡教育投资政策的特点及其启示

当今新加坡的教育质量世界闻名,这与其教育投资政策的独特性有关。它的投资力度大、执行力与延续性强、经济效益高以及拥有国民重视教育投资的良好氛围等特点;这些宝贵的经验对位于我国四川省的未来教育发展有着很大的启示。     

Tongue-Tied in Singapore: A Language Policy for Tamil?

The Tamil situation in Singapore is one that lends itself ideally to the study of minority-language maintenance. The Tamil community is small. Tamils constitute only 4% of the population, whereas Indians constitute around 7%. The history and demographics of the Tamil community are well known. The Singapore educational system supports a well-developed and comprehensive bilingual education program for its three major linguistic communities on an egalitarian basis, so Tamil is a sort of "test case" for how well a small language community can survive in a multilingual society where larger groups are doing well. But Tamil is acknowledged by many to be facing a number of crises. Tamil as a home language is not being maintained by the better educated, and Indian education in Singapore is also not living up to the expectations many people have for it. Educated people who love Tamil are upset that Tamil is becoming thought of as a "coolie language" and regret this very much. Because Tamil is a language characterized by extreme diglossia, there is the additional pedagogical problem of trying to maintain a language with 2 variants but with a strong cultural bias on the part of the educational establishment for maintaining the literary dialect to the detriment of the spoken one. This article examines these attempts to maintain a highly diglossic language in emigration and concludes that the well-meaning bilingual education system actually produces a situation of subtractive bilingualism.