Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education

Singapore Educational Policy Development

Singapore: Contemporary issues in early childhood education

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education

The purpose of this paper is to prepare a service mapping Singapore Ministry of Education policy development and to map how those policies, services, and regulations are formed. The focus will be on the area of curriculum and will be presented as an essay. Four quotations and links to journal articles are required as reference sources and there must be included a self-critical reflection and a comparison of the policies with other countries.

According to the Singapore Ministry of Education when a student completes Secondary School the should have:

Have moral integrity

Have care and concern for others

Be able to work in teams and value every contribution

Be enterprising and innovative

Possess a broad-based foundation for further education

Have appreciation for aesthetics

Know and believe in Singapore

In the work entitled, " A New Emphasis for a New Millennium: Affective and Career Education in Singapore stated is that, "The 21st century will require individuals to cope with rapid change in many areas of life" and that, "Along with the teaching of the traditional knowledge base, Asian educators need to help students learn how to manage change and the stress it can bring." The work states that it is the "emotional intelligence" that along with "traditional cognitive skills" that are those factors that are most importance in the development of "adaptable, successful, and productive citizens." (D'Rozario, 1998)

Education of the 'Whole-child'

Education in Singapore is focused on nurturing the 'whole child'. (Bracey, 2000) Evidenced by the report entitled "APEC Labor Markets: Structural Change and the Asian Financial Crisis" (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)" published in the Journal of Contemporary Asia, spending on education in the country of Singapore and other regional countries is toward the focus of improved learning:

"The allocation of public expenditure between basic and higher education is the major public policy factor that accounts for East Asia's extraordinary performance with regard to the quantity of basic education provided. The share of public expenditure on education allocated to basic education has been consistently higher in East Asia than elsewhere (World Bank 1993:199).

Further stated in the report is the fact that:

Countries such as Singapore and Malaysia which have low levels of education in the older generation, currently have universal rates of primary schooling and very high rates of secondary schooling (as do virtually all developing APEC (Phillip, 2001)

The Mission of the Ministry of Education is stated to be:

"To assist schools to develop loyal and well-rounded citizens who appreciate culture and lead healthy lifestyles." The Vision is stated to be:" To develop citizens who know how to make a living and also know how to live." (Ministry of Education Website Online)

The stated desired outcomes of education stated on the Ministry of Education website is concerned with the moral, intellectual, physical, social and aesthetic development of the child. Stated is that, "the foundation of a person is his values. From these spring his outlook on life and his goals in life. Together with the home, our schools have to work carefully and painstakingly to shape the morals of our children." Further stated is that children have to learn how to interrelate with others both those who are alike as well as those who are different. The two main stated roles in education are:

An educated person is one responsible to himself, his family, and his friends.

An educated person is also someone who is responsible to his community and country.

The Ministry of Education holds that: "these two roles of education reinforce and complement each other." (Singapore Ministry of Education Website)

The teaching of two languages in Singapore spring from what some call an egalitarian policy as stated below:

'In the media and in lay discussions of language policy, one can often hear a call for "egalitarianism" in language policy, the logic being that if right-thinking people prefer "equal opportunity" in employment for all citizens, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, or gender, etc., then language policies also ought to be egalitarian." (Schiffman, et al., 1996)

Curriculum Planning & Development Division -- Literature Review

The Ministry of Education, Curriculum Planning & Development Division functions as both the developer of the design as well as reviewer and monitor of the Syllabus in terms of its implementation. Promotion of teaching and learning approaches that conform with curriculum intent as well as designing modes of assessment in support of the learning outcomes that are desired. The programs both design and take charge of special curriculum programs such as the Humanities Program, the Language Elective Program and the Art/Music Elective Programs. Through provided resources support is given through training of school personnel for implementing the syllabus. The Ministry of Education: Curriculum Planning & Development Division also produces and approves instructional materials as well as supervising the MOE HQ Library. Language Centres are part of the Division's initiative through which the Ministry of Education supervises the Language Centre and the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre. Consultancy services are also provided which is through specialist advice given to other Divisions, Ministries, as well as private publishers on matters related to the curriculum. (Ministry of Education, Singapore Online)