The best part about being in the education field is learning about the practices of each country to make sure their students are globally competitive. Differences in learning styles isn’t because kids around the world have varying learning curves. A lot of it is because of the nuances in culture, so a standard education system for all schools in the world really isn’t going to work.
When you start studying the different curriculums, on can’t help but notice that Singapore schools tend to produce promising students who go on to be prominent contributors in society. Students here top international exams and are very enthusiastic about learning. So what’s their secret? Let’s discuss.
Education System Overview
The aim is to be able to support the development of the student’s academic strengths, interests, and social skills as they grow. For this reason, Singaporean curriculum always undergoes review and reform to ensure that it remains flexible and high quality.
A product of these reforms are the many different schools kids can be enrolled in, from primary school up to college. After six years of primary school, the students move on to secondary school. At this point, they can choose which path they want by deciding if they want to attend a normal secondary school, a specialised school, and an express school. Post-secondary school offers a choice of junior colleges, polytechnics, and technical education institutes.
Reasons Why the Singaporean Education System is Successful
Students learn at their own pace
The reason why their education system is designed that way is because Singapore wants its students to choose their own learning pathway. Each child learns differently, and therefore require different techniques so that they can improve on their strengths and addresses their weakest skills. In this way, students can learn at their own pace.
Constantly undergoes review
What Singapore wants is not only to produce students who are globally competitive, but to respond to the changes and demands of the modern world. For this reason, their education system is constantly getting iterations to make sure they are able to respond and adapt to both the local and international landscapes.
Clear goals and desired outcomes
What is most helpful about the education system in Singapore is their transparency. All schools, institutions, and educators know the goals for national education. There is no disconnect when schools start implementing their own policies as well as that of the department of education. This does not just ensure that students are better prepared as their move up a level, but that the educators are able to adopt different pedagogies as needed and provide high quality teaching.
Encourage teacher and parent involvement
The Ministry of Education (MoE) believes that for educators to get creative and innovative with their teaching, they must be given the proper tools to do so. This is why investments are being made in purchasing equipment and building infrastructure to support teachers all over Singapore.
Additionally, the MoE created a platforms to mediate interaction between parents and teachers. Called the Parent Support Group (PSG), it is comprised of volunteer parents in every school in Singapore to discuss how else to better their kids’ level of learning.
All of these contribute to producing students who are competent, highly efficient, and have a great love for learning. So while you’re looking at a list of international schools in Singapore, keep these reasons in mind and know that you’re picking the right education system for your kids.