Introduction
On gaining her independence from British Colonial rule in 1965, Singapore’s government focussed on developing an education system based on equal opportunity that would be mindful of the four main races that existed on the island—Chinese, Malay, Indians and Eurasians. Some twenty years later, after realizing that an equal resource based allocation system of education was not able to accommodate the differing needs and abilities of children, a system that channelled students into various academic programs that were able to address these differences was initiated.
One of these academic programs provided the gifted or talented children on the island state, a group of students long neglected by the old education system, the opportunity to develop their innate abilities to the fullest of their potential. Behind this change in educational policy, from one of equity to one of recognizing that the differing potential of each pupil needs to be realized, was ensuring rights of each individual student as well as the Government’s need to fully develop the nation’s only natural resource—its people.
In this paper, I will analyze the atmosphere that existed that enabled such a shift in the nation’s educational policy. By analyzing the policy of Singapore’s Gifted Education Program through Rich’s (1992) and Levin’s (2001) frameworks of policy analysis, from conceptualization to the outcomes of the policy, I will contend that the implementation of the policy was not only an initiative to recognize the rights of individuals to receive the best education they could obtain, but was also to foster the economic development of the country.
History of Education in Singapore
Singapore first started its policy of ‘Education for All’, a one-size-fits-all system of education, in order to address the problem of the numerous private schools that existed during Colonial rule. To bring all the denominationally and racially funded and administered private schools under the umbrella of the newly established Ministry of Education, the policy of ‘Education for All’ provided the vehicle that would integrate not only the different races through a common educational experience but also a common set of educational standards and curriculum that would serve as the foundation for its industrializing initiative (Global Conference, 2001, p. 4).
Through an educational system that offered equal opportunities for all regardless of race or religious denomination, students’ progress through the mainstream of the education system was based on achievement. All children experienced ten years of compulsory basic education, six years of primary and four years of secondary education, following which, enrolment into the limited vacancies and fields of study conducted by the institutions of higher learning was based on a system of meritocracy.
In order to improve the education system in the early 1980s, a systemic educational reform was initiated: the backbone of this reform being streaming of students according to their different academic abilities and thereby providing students with the educational programs that would challenge their different abilities and interests according to their potential. This became the ‘Ability-Driven Education’ system of education proposed by the Ministry of Education. In the new streaming system, children were provided with the opportunity to learn and progress at their own academic learning pace.
IntroductionOn gaining her independence from British Colonial rule in 1965, Singapore’s government focussed on developing an education system based on equal opportunity that would be mindful of the four main races that existed on the island—Chinese, Malay, Indians and Eurasians. Some twenty years later, after realizing that an equal resource based allocation system of education was not able to accommodate the differing needs and abilities of children, a system that channelled students into various academic programs that were able to address these differences was initiated.One of these academic programs provided the gifted or talented children on the island state, a group of students long neglected by the old education system, the opportunity to develop their innate abilities to the fullest of their potential. Behind this change in educational policy, from one of equity to one of recognizing that the differing potential of each pupil needs to be realized, was ensuring rights of each individual student as well as the Government’s need to fully develop the nation’s only natural resource—its people. In this paper, I will analyze the atmosphere that existed that enabled such a shift in the nation’s educational policy. By analyzing the policy of Singapore’s Gifted Education Program through Rich’s (1992) and Levin’s (2001) frameworks of policy analysis, from conceptualization to the outcomes of the policy, I will contend that the implementation of the policy was not only an initiative to recognize the rights of individuals to receive the best education they could obtain, but was also to foster the economic development of the country.
History of Education in Singapore
Singapore first started its policy of ‘Education for All’, a one-size-fits-all system of education, in order to address the problem of the numerous private schools that existed during Colonial rule. To bring all the denominationally and racially funded and administered private schools under the umbrella of the newly established Ministry of Education, the policy of ‘Education for All’ provided the vehicle that would integrate not only the different races through a common educational experience but also a common set of educational standards and curriculum that would serve as the foundation for its industrializing initiative (Global Conference, 2001, p. 4).
Through an educational system that offered equal opportunities for all regardless of race or religious denomination, students’ progress through the mainstream of the education system was based on achievement. All children experienced ten years of compulsory basic education, six years of primary and four years of secondary education, following which, enrolment into the limited vacancies and fields of study conducted by the institutions of higher learning was based on a system of meritocracy.
In order to improve the education system in the early 1980s, a systemic educational reform was initiated: the backbone of this reform being streaming of students according to their different academic abilities and thereby providing students with the educational programs that would challenge their different abilities and interests according to their potential. This became the ‘Ability-Driven Education’ system of education proposed by the Ministry of Education. In the new streaming system, children were provided with the opportunity to learn and progress at their own academic learning pace.
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Introduction
On gaining her independence from British Colonial rule in 1965, Singapore’s government focussed on developing an education system based on equal opportunity that would be mindful of the four main races that existed on the island—Chinese, Malay, Indians and Eurasians. Some twenty years later, after realizing that an equal resource based allocation system of education was not able to accommodate the differing needs and abilities of children, a system that channelled students into various academic programs that were able to address these differences was initiated.
One of these academic programs provided the gifted or talented children on the island state, a group of students long neglected by the old education system, the opportunity to develop their innate abilities to the fullest of their potential. Behind this change in educational policy, from one of equity to one of recognizing that the differing potential of each pupil needs to be realized, was ensuring rights of each individual student as well as the Government’s need to fully develop the nation’s only natural resource—its people.
In this paper, I will analyze the atmosphere that existed that enabled such a shift in the nation’s educational policy. By analyzing the policy of Singapore’s Gifted Education Program through Rich’s (1992) and Levin’s (2001) frameworks of policy analysis, from conceptualization to the outcomes of the policy, I will contend that the implementation of the policy was not only an initiative to recognize the rights of individuals to receive the best education they could obtain, but was also to foster the economic development of the country.
History of Education in Singapore
Singapore first started its policy of ‘Education for All’, a one-size-fits-all system of education, in order to address the problem of the numerous private schools that existed during Colonial rule. To bring all the denominationally and racially funded and administered private schools under the umbrella of the newly established Ministry of Education, the policy of ‘Education for All’ provided the vehicle that would integrate not only the different races through a common educational experience but also a common set of educational standards and curriculum that would serve as the foundation for its industrializing initiative (Global Conference, 2001, p. 4).
Through an educational system that offered equal opportunities for all regardless of race or religious denomination, students’ progress through the mainstream of the education system was based on achievement. All children experienced ten years of compulsory basic education, six years of primary and four years of secondary education, following which, enrolment into the limited vacancies and fields of study conducted by the institutions of higher learning was based on a system of meritocracy.
In order to improve the education system in the early 1980s, a systemic educational reform was initiated: the backbone of this reform being streaming of students according to their different academic abilities and thereby providing students with the educational programs that would challenge their different abilities and interests according to their potential. This became the ‘Ability-Driven Education’ system of education proposed by the Ministry of Education. In the new streaming system, children were provided with the opportunity to learn and progress at their own academic learning pace.
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