Education
Education
 Formal education – formal academic studies and schools
 It can also refer to admirable human qualities that one
acquires out of classroom
 Consider the larger aims of education
 That aims of education vary across cultures and time
 It is thus important to have a clear parameter when you
are answering essay questions – are you talking about
Singapore/ developed countries? Are you discussing
formal education?
Purposes of Education
 To put it simply, it refers to the reason to send
children to school
 Education does not have a single goal; in fact, it
serves multiple objectives
 We attend school not just to fill our minds with
knowledge but in the process of acquiring these
textbook knowledge, we also build our character,
sharpen our critical eye and expand our minds.
So it is just about getting a
job?
 We’ve often been told that education is the ticket to
employment, good pay and a bright future
 Pragmatic thus far.
 A person must still be equipped for a job so that he can
earn a living and at the same time contribute to the
society of which he is a member
 Employers still look at certification to ascertain the
applicant’s capability – objective and easier
 From the perspective of the government Contribute to economy hence need to prepare the
young for the workforce
 Overall skill level of the local labour force is one of
the key drivers of local job growth and wage growth
[Singapore – knowledge based economy]
 Better equipped for more job opportunities –
productivity will improve – boost economy
 However nowadays the skills mastered in order to
get those qualifications are now getting redundant
in the workplace
 Why??
 Students end up learning skills that are examinable
but are ultimately redundant
 And as a result?
 New graduates cannot match the expectations of the
current job market and governments also struggle to
grow their economies to increase the number of jobs
to meet demand
 What’s wrong with skills that are examinable –
fixated on content specific curricula because it is so
much easier to quantify, assesss and deem ready for
the working world
 Can be memorised, serves no real application in real
life
 But the world is changing at an exponentially
increasing rate  anything remotely content
specific is likely to be redundant almost as fast
 Eg: in United Kingdom, there has been a problem of
too many graduates to the point where it was
common to find construction workers who
possessed Masters degrees
 Unless society finds a new way to assess the competency
of people they hire, certification would still be the
primary mode of determining worth - objective way/
tried and tested
 People would expect that education would provide them
with the abilities needed for future careers
 The only way forward is for education to encompass life
skills related to social emotional learning, which would
allow students to better manage themselves and their
relationships with others
 Such perennial skills would also enable students to
cope with the rapidly changing world and respond
with stability when it is called for.
 Hence what would be useful is a strategy for life –
to prepare students for life
 The young need to be educated in skills that could
serve an individual for life like creativity and
teamwork as well as a capacity for perceiving
responsibility with compassion
Life skills
 Some examples include allowing failure,
experimentation, creativity and innovation, ability
to communicate with others, independent etc
 Common call for change to education from
celebrities to distinguished experts [Steve Jobs, JK
Rowling, Jim Carrey etc]
 More governments have begun to enact the shift of
curriculum to the inclusion of more life skills and
character building. One example is Singapore.
 Life skills are non-tangible skills that deal with cognitive,
social, and emotional competence
 These types of intangible skills are what help develop
better coping and success strategies.
 Determine someone’s perception of us and their
receptivity to us
 With life skills, one is able to explore alternatives, weigh
pros and cons and make rational decisions in solving
each problem or issue as it arises. It also entails being
able to establish productive interpersonal relationships
with others.
 The fall of some countries during the recent
financial crisis demonstrates the lack of practical
skills that people have today; instead of being able
to cope and find opportunity in crisis, the people of
Greece choose to blame each other and wait for
massive financial bailouts which the country may
never recover from.
 Being able to create change rather than struggle in
the wake of it and having communities that can
progress together would make for a better result of
education than a blind focus on academia.
Hence the need to diversify
 Knowledge is still important – foundation for thinking
 Without a “rigorous foundation” of numeracy and
literacy, students cannot learn new skills and pick up new
jobs later in life.
 Evi: an emphasis on bilingualism even in the
kindergartens and learning support programmes for
languages and maths in primary and secondary schools
 Very little can be achieved with the help of surface
knowledge
 Humanly impossible to absorb all knowledge and
understand it all – knowledge is so vast and ever
expanding
 But No longer enough to have one set of
fundamental knowledge and skills
 Long years of specialisation determines thinking
and attitude – limited in his approach
 Ideally, one should know the fundamental facts
about various areas of knowledge – eg: the new ‘A’
syllabus has stipulated that each candidate must
offer a ‘contrasting’ subject – aims to expand their
knowledge about subject areas which they may not
have taken up voluntarily
 Important that one is able to synthesize – sense of
continuity and interrelatedness
 And it is important that all that he or she has
gathered should not remain a bunch of facts but
rather he or she should be able to critically analyse
these information and transform and synthesize his
or her knowledge into applicable / transferable
skills
 More application questions in assessment; no longer
just accepting model answers
Critical thinking
 The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in
order to form a judgment
Creative thinking
 A way of looking at problems and situations from a
fresh perspective that suggests new/ unorthodox
solutions
 The quality and number of people graduating from
University with a Bachelor Degrees, a Masters Degrees
and even a PhD is increasing at an incredible rate.
 There will be a tremendous amount of qualified people
applying for the same jobs. What will set someone apart
is their ability to think differently, to think in new
ways, to come up with new ideas, and to be innovative.
 Minister for Education, Heng Swee Keat, said this is
''less about content knowledge'' but ''more about
how to process information".
 He describes this challenge to innovate as being able
to "discern truths from untruths, connect seemingly
disparate dots, and create knowledge even as the
context changes''.
Creativity in Singapore
schools
 Narrow focus on Science and Math
 Obsession with exam grades and standardized
testing
 Results in our curriculum not rewarding creativity –
students are used to being spoonfed and
memorising and regurgitating model answers
 Schools also find it hard to teach or test creativity.
Problem lies in over emphasis
on Science and Math
 Narrow focus of education system on only the
functional or pragmatic aspects may result in
children growing up with tunnel vision since
science and math might be their sole focus
 Focusing on what is regarded as productive and
downplaying importance of creative skills may
stunt creativity
 Create a society monotonous and without colour,
limits the views of people to see or imagine
possibilities for themselves beyond the pragmatic
 Eg: the fact that Express students in Singapore
cannot take Art after Secondary Two. Another
example is that Design and Technology is only
available to certain students.
 Though technically every subject should teach
creative skills, it is more difficult to be creative with
Science and Math subjects
Problem lies in the
assessment
 In order to be successful in standardized testing,
students must write papers whereby the main skill
being examined is critical thinking, not creativity.
 We do not test creativity or allow creative answers –
students are spoonfed with model answers and due
to importance of grades, few would dare to do
something different
 Eg: Even in Literature, we are tested on the critical
analysis of a poem or a prose and not on the creative
aspects
Schools do not teach
creativity
 Shortsighted educational philosophers are to be blamed.
– obsession with exam grades
 Many local teachers prefer docility and tame students
who have creative ideas and are forward thinkers,
 Our society also declares that math, science,
memorization and successful standardized examination
results are the only things students need to survive
 Teachers do not go beyond standard curriculum or allow
students to explore beyond. Even if they want to, they do
not have the time due to the packed curriculum.
Our society also does not
promote creativity
 Overarching influence of Confucian teachings and
adherence to obedience, respect for authority,
hierarchical structures and insistence on conformity,
 Seem to go against what are generally thought to be
the catalysts for innovation — namely, an open
culture where exchange of ideas are encouraged,
individuality, and diversity which brings about
different perspectives.
But we are trying to make
a change …
 For Singapore, our “Desired Outcomes of
Education” include critical and inventive thinking
as well as social and emotional competences. At the
end of secondary school, among other things
students are expected to be “resilient in the face of
adversity”, “innovative and enterprising” as well
as “able to think critically and communicate
persuasively”.
 Refer to articles
Passion for learning
 Too much pragmatic focus may diminish the joys of
learning – important to not let rigidity of education
system to produce too much stress and competition
that turn children off from learning
 Children should be allowed to explore their
interests and discover their potentials
 Important to have a love for learning – ensure that
the child will be prepared for life – skills and
knowledge will get redundant
 Vital that what is taught holds great value for the
people receiving the lesson
 There must be some joy and fun and students need
to see how the knowledge and skills they are
learning can be applied
 Students need to understand the value of what is
being taught, its inherent applicability and the
subsequent enhancement to their lives
 A passion for learning will then lead to lifelong
learning
Character formation
 One must possess moral integrity
 Above all the knowledge that one has accumulated,
one needs to be aware that ultimately one must
bring good to society, not to harm others
 Moral compass guides one’s behaviour
 One will not be able to earn respect if one does not
possess a strong moral compass
 One will also bring harm to the people around him
or her or worse, the society
 Values - Principles or standards of behaviour; one’s
judgement of what is important in life
 Eg: western values, Buddhist values etc
 Moral values – the rules or right conduct; the
distinction between right and wrong
 The very basic of a human being
Why is it important?
 Youth are buffeted by the forces of changing technology
and intense global competition and, hence, traditional
social structures are breaking down across the world and
in Singapore.
 The more deeply our youth internalise good values, the
better they are prepared for a fast- changing world
 We need personal values to enable each of us to have the
confidence, self awareness, grit and determination to
succeed.
 We need moral values, such as respect, responsibility,
care and appreciation towards others to guide each of us
to be a socially responsible person
 Eg: Ferdinand Marcos, the former President of the
Philippines.
 As a lawyer and eventually a leader of his people,
he would be considered a well educated person.
However his downfall was brought about by a
government marred by nepotism and corruption.
 While some have recognised his intelligence and
leadership, his lack of integrity has marred those
views
Meritocracy
 Political philosophy which holds that power should
be vested in individuals according to merit
 What’s merit?
 Talent meritocracy
 Exam meritocracy
Talent meritocracy
 Employed in the Western countries
 Based on individual’s different talents
 Works under the belief each individual is unique in
his/her own way and should be given different
opportunities to explore and develop
 Classes are not restricted by grades
Exam meritocracy
 Employed in Singapore and other asian countries
 Based on test scores derived from standardized tests
 Works under the belief that Standardized test are
sufficient to gauge out the cream of the crop and
that developing the best will yield the most
desirable results
 Classes are restricted by the test scores that the
individual recieves
Advantages of talent
meritocracy
 Everyone is allowed to pursue their passion
 No one is discriminated against, regardless of
grades
 Talented individuals in areas like the arts can be
identified
Advantages of exam
meritocracy
 Individuals are developed based on their academic
strength
 There is a motivation to work harder due to the
competitive nature of exam meritocracy
 Research have shown that countries which employ
exam meritocracy score better on standardized tests
compared to countries which employs talent
meritocracy
Disadvantages of talent
meritocracy
 Interest does not always equal to talent
 Many parents all feel their child is gifted,as
such,would get their child to opt for a class which is
not suitable for them
 Significantly lower scores on standardized tests
compared to other countries which employ exam
meritocracy
Disadvantages of exam
meritocracy
 Interest is secondary to ability
 Lacks the ability to test for areas such as creativity
 Fails to train qualities like spontaneity
 Weaker students are discriminated against and only
the better students get better standards of education
along with more options and opportunities
Social divide
 A meritocratic system is coupled with the principle
of non-discrimination, in which merit and talent
alone determine selection.
 But one must also consider the unequal
backgrounds from which people come.
 It means, for example, ensuring that children compete
in schools on a more equal footing
 Those who benefitted from the system (better
education and more earning power  use resources
to ensure their children remain winners
 Eg: tuition, preference for alumni for popular
primary schools
 Rise in social distance between the winners of the
system and the rest
 Must ensure that the elite (people who are
governing) consciously don the lens of the ordinary
singaporeans
 Ensure that social mobility does not decelerate
despite greater resources available to winners –
resources must be made available for the rest (eg:
CDAC)
 Winners in this system must be aware that their
acheivements are enabled by the society they live in.
Exams
 Concerned that overloading children with work and
exam preparations could threaten students’ health
and emotions
 The Organization for Economic and Development
(OECD) ranked S. Korea elementary, middle and
high school students the lowest in terms of
happiness compared to other OECD countries
 In Singapore, critics have argued that children
cannot enjoy their education or pursue their
passions due to the need to do well
Plus points
 Exams are a quick way to sort large numbers of
students by ability in specific areas – standardized
testing ensures accurate comparison across groups
 Exams encourage students to study, do more
reading and writing and thus improving their
general knowledge.
Plus points
 An exam measures how well a student has grasped
facts, knowledge or skills in a specific area at a
specific point in time / or how well the teacher has
taught
 Good for follow-up actions that can help the students
 Help track students’ progress
Minus points
 Conventional exams just cannot measure a whole
range of qualities, strengths and capacities that
matter in life
 Bulk of rewards goes to those who excel in a rather
narrow range of skills
 It reveals very little else, including a student's
eagerness to learn.
Minus points
 High stakes - Some take up to a year off work to
help their child prepare for the PSLE as they believe
its scores determine the secondary school, and
therefore the university, their child can access,
which in turn determines his eventual job prospects
and career path.
 high level of pressure – results in undesirable
consequences (depression or addiction)
Minus points
 High pressure
 Teachers teach to the test. Most do not do this, but
some feel so much pressure for their students to
achieve a specific score that they do end up teaching to
the test, whether they want to or not. This can make
school drudgery for students and steal teachers’
enjoyment of teaching.
 Schools cut down on non essential subjects or play
time. This can have negative impact on children’s
social, emotional, and academic well-being.
Minus points
 An exam meritocracy may be hard on late bloomers.
Most exams take place in the first 20-odd years of
people's lives. But some may take longer to find
their niche.
So…
 For better or worse, standardized testing is here to
stay.
 The key is to use the test results as a guide for
teachers, parents, and students.
 They should also be used, in a limited capacity, to
assess how well schools are doing.
 Standardized testing certainly should be used to help
measure a school’s success, but it should
be one assessment among several that determines
whether a school's students are progressing or not.