Singapore Immigration Education: World-class teachers favor the top-performing students in their classes. Singapore is widely recognized as having the smartest high school students in the world. The success of Singapore's education system has helped it become a prosperous nation, and the way Singapore has built its educational framework offers valuable lessons for other countries.
"Singapore is a country worth watching," says Marc Tucker, President of the National Center on Education and the Economy in the United States. Before World War II, Singapore was an important British port. When the British withdrew and closed their bases, Singapore was left in chaos. "Today, Singapore is one of the best-performing economies in the world. Their success relies heavily on education and training," Tucker explains. "If Singapore's prosperity is built on education, the secret to its education system is the quality of its teachers." "They hire teachers from the high schools that produce the best students."
Creative Application of Knowledge
After the war, Singapore's labor market was cheap and low-end, so its education system was well-suited for literacy education. However, starting in the 1970s, Singapore's economy faced a transformation. With the rapid development toward high-tech and white-collar jobs, the education system needed to keep pace. Soon, the goal became to provide every child with a world-class education, which meant shifting from rote memorization to encouraging innovation.
Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, said: "When they are faced with only one training system, they will certainly develop education rapidly. But when they have already achieved that, they first think about what our children really need to succeed in the future economy?"
"They have always understood one thing: it is no longer just what people know that benefits them in the global economy. Google knows everything. What benefits people in the global economy is knowing what to do with what they know." Emphasizing application, in Singapore and some other Asian countries, the creative application of knowledge is very important.
From a young age—even before starting primary school—the importance of education is instilled. "I think as preschool educators, our education is very fundamental," says Diana Wang, Principal of Pat's Schoolhouse at Sembawang Country Club, a kindergarten in northern Singapore. "Our early childhood education is the foundation." Schleicher notes that this is partly due to cultural reasons, as parents in many Asian countries prioritize their children's education.
He explains: "It starts with resources, which are prioritized for education. In these countries, parents and grandparents invest their last resources, putting their final savings into their children's education." "It's a matter of priority; you can see that at all levels of public policy, education comes first, and that is your future."