Source: Newsweek International
1. Harvard University
2. Stanford University
3. Yale University
4. California Institute of Technology
5. University of California at Berkeley
6. University of Cambridge
7. Massachusetts Institute Technology
8. Oxford University
9. University of California at San Francisco
10. Columbia University
11. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
12. University of California at Los Angeles
13. University of Pennsylvania
14. Duke University
15. Princeton Universitty
16. Tokyo University
17. Imperial College London
18. University of Toronto
19. Cornell University
20. University of Chicago
21. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
22. University of Washington at Seattle
23. University of California at San Diego
24. Johns Hopkins University
25. University College London
26. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
27. University Texas at Austin
28. University of Wisconsin at Madison
29. Kyoto University
30. University of Minnesota Twin Cities
31. University of British Columbia
32. University of Geneva
33. Washington University in St. Louis
34. London School of Economics
35. Northwestern University
36. National University of Singapore
37. University of Pittsburgh
38. Australian National University
39. New York University
40. Pennsylvania State University
41. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
42. McGill University
43. Ecole Polytechnique
44. University of Basel
45. University of Maryland
46. University of Zurich
47. University of Edinburgh
48. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
49. University of Bristol
50. University of Sydney
51. University of Colorado at Boulder
52. Utrecht University
53. University of Melbourne
54. University of Southern California
55. University of Alberta
56. Brown University
57. Osaka University
58. University of Manchester
59. University of California at Santa Barbara
60. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
61. Wageningen University
62. Michigan State University
63. University of Munich
64. University of New South Wales
65. Boston University
66. Vanderbilt University
67. University of Rochester
68. Tohoku University
69. University of Hong Kong
70. University of Sheffield
71. Nanyang Technological University
72. University of Vienna
73. Monash University
74. University of Nottingham
75. Carnegie Mellon University
76. Lund University
77. Texas A&M University
78. University of Western Australia
79. Ecole Normale Super Paris
80. University of Virginia
81. Technical University of Munich
82. Hebrew University of Jerusalem
83. Leiden University
84. University of Waterloo
85. King's College London
86.Purdue University
87. University of Birmingham
88. Uppsala University
89. University of Amsterdam
90. University of Heidelberg
91. University of Queensland
92. University of Leuven
93. Emory University
94. Nagoya University
95. Case Western Reserve University
96. Chinese University of Hong Kong
97. University of Newcastle
98. Innsbruck University
99. University of Massachusetts at Amherst
100. Sussex University
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
For more info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14321230/
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Workers Education Program paves way for better life
Source: SouthCoastToday.com
By PAMELA MAREAN
Standard-Times correspondent
April 01, 2007 6:00 AM
For those who don't speak English or haven't graduated from high school, the American dream might seem out of reach.
Sixty adult students have recently been able to improve their chances for success by enrolling in classes at the UMass Dartmouth Workers' Education Program in New Bedford. The supplemental classes are made possible by a $100,000 funding boost in the 2006 Massachusetts Economic Stimulus bill.
Students who otherwise would have had to spend two years on a waiting list for openings in the WEP classes are now studying English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and General Educational Development (GED).
WEP Director Lisa Jochim estimated about 350 people are waiting for evening ESOL classes. There are now 12 evening classes in ESOL instead of eight. With about 15 students per class, the increased funding allowed capacity to jump by 40 percent. If WEP could offer still more classes, they would be filled, too, Mrs. Jochim said.
Even with the additional classes, it's hard for Mrs. Jochim to say whether the waiting period for evening ESOL classes will be shorter.
Fernando and Judite Teixeira are a Portuguese couple who spent two years waiting to study ESOL at night. They came to the United States in 1997 and struggled to learn the language on their own. They live in Fairhaven, where both work as cooks at Gene's Famous Seafoods.
Mastering English verbs is their greatest challenge, the Teixeiras agreed. They still stumble through constructing sentences when nervous, though they say they understand the language better than they speak it. They no longer need interpreters when they visit the doctor, dentist or their daughter's school.
The Teixeiras have been taking ESOL classes at WEP for three years now, building their reading, speaking, writing and computer skills. Last year, they became U.S. citizens when they passed verbal and written tests in English on their knowledge of American history and the Constitution. They has already exercised their new rights to vote in this country, they said.
The Teixeiras' story is not unusual, but it doesn't typify the ESOL student body either.
"Years ago, the typical students might have been a 45-year-old Portuguese stitcher working in a factory during the day and taking classes at night," Mrs. Jochim said. "The economy in New Bedford has changed a lot, and the typical student no longer exists. We have students from 15 different countries and all different ages from 16 to 70. Most are fairly young adults who want to improve their skills."
Arlindo "AJ" Correia only waited four months to get into ESOL classes.
After he came to the United States from Portugal in 2000, he washed floors for Stop & Shop at night because he couldn't speak English. In school in Portugal, he had studied French instead of English.
Two years ago, once he had picked up enough English to get by, Mr. Correia started his own cleaning company. But when it came to writing business proposals, he had to ask other people to do it for him, he said.
After only one month in ESOL, Mr. Correia approached UMass Dartmouth to clean the downtown New Bedford building where the WEP classes are held. He wrote that proposal himself and was awarded the contract.
His biggest challenge was to learn not to speak "backwards," as Mr. Correia called it. He explained that in both Portuguese and French the adjective comes after the noun it modifies. Instead of saying "White House," the ESOL student would say "House White."
Mr. Carreira has been told by his ESOL teachers that he'll be ready to take his GED exam within the next six months.
Mrs. Jochim said that she often hears business owners complain that they can't find qualified employees. "The students in these programs are doing their part," she said.
Both ESOL and GED classes are provided by WEP free of charge. For more information, call (508) 999-4047.
By PAMELA MAREAN
Standard-Times correspondent
April 01, 2007 6:00 AM
For those who don't speak English or haven't graduated from high school, the American dream might seem out of reach.
Sixty adult students have recently been able to improve their chances for success by enrolling in classes at the UMass Dartmouth Workers' Education Program in New Bedford. The supplemental classes are made possible by a $100,000 funding boost in the 2006 Massachusetts Economic Stimulus bill.
Students who otherwise would have had to spend two years on a waiting list for openings in the WEP classes are now studying English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and General Educational Development (GED).
WEP Director Lisa Jochim estimated about 350 people are waiting for evening ESOL classes. There are now 12 evening classes in ESOL instead of eight. With about 15 students per class, the increased funding allowed capacity to jump by 40 percent. If WEP could offer still more classes, they would be filled, too, Mrs. Jochim said.
Even with the additional classes, it's hard for Mrs. Jochim to say whether the waiting period for evening ESOL classes will be shorter.
Fernando and Judite Teixeira are a Portuguese couple who spent two years waiting to study ESOL at night. They came to the United States in 1997 and struggled to learn the language on their own. They live in Fairhaven, where both work as cooks at Gene's Famous Seafoods.
Mastering English verbs is their greatest challenge, the Teixeiras agreed. They still stumble through constructing sentences when nervous, though they say they understand the language better than they speak it. They no longer need interpreters when they visit the doctor, dentist or their daughter's school.
The Teixeiras have been taking ESOL classes at WEP for three years now, building their reading, speaking, writing and computer skills. Last year, they became U.S. citizens when they passed verbal and written tests in English on their knowledge of American history and the Constitution. They has already exercised their new rights to vote in this country, they said.
The Teixeiras' story is not unusual, but it doesn't typify the ESOL student body either.
"Years ago, the typical students might have been a 45-year-old Portuguese stitcher working in a factory during the day and taking classes at night," Mrs. Jochim said. "The economy in New Bedford has changed a lot, and the typical student no longer exists. We have students from 15 different countries and all different ages from 16 to 70. Most are fairly young adults who want to improve their skills."
Arlindo "AJ" Correia only waited four months to get into ESOL classes.
After he came to the United States from Portugal in 2000, he washed floors for Stop & Shop at night because he couldn't speak English. In school in Portugal, he had studied French instead of English.
Two years ago, once he had picked up enough English to get by, Mr. Correia started his own cleaning company. But when it came to writing business proposals, he had to ask other people to do it for him, he said.
After only one month in ESOL, Mr. Correia approached UMass Dartmouth to clean the downtown New Bedford building where the WEP classes are held. He wrote that proposal himself and was awarded the contract.
His biggest challenge was to learn not to speak "backwards," as Mr. Correia called it. He explained that in both Portuguese and French the adjective comes after the noun it modifies. Instead of saying "White House," the ESOL student would say "House White."
Mr. Carreira has been told by his ESOL teachers that he'll be ready to take his GED exam within the next six months.
Mrs. Jochim said that she often hears business owners complain that they can't find qualified employees. "The students in these programs are doing their part," she said.
Both ESOL and GED classes are provided by WEP free of charge. For more information, call (508) 999-4047.
Friday, March 30, 2007
The shape of schools to come?
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
By Hannah Goff BBC
News education reporter
Ask 10 different experts what schools of the future will look like and you will get 10 different answers.
But one thing upon which they all agree is that the way that pupils are taught and the technology that is used must have a central role in the design.
So planners have to understand what the education of the future will be like to prevent them designing something that will soon become outdated.
Education consultant Les Watson says there is a danger that those planning schools for the future create something that "constricts the learning of the future".
Instead of planning a new school with rows of 1940s desks in them, those involved in the process must "think outside the box".
Mr Watson says: "Currently we run education like a railway - everybody has to be at a particular place at a particular time to catch the learning train.
"With new technology it does not have to be like that."
Lessons can be beamed into classrooms by absent teachers podcasting on the interactive whiteboard.
No corridors
Pupils can use their laptops for independent study in wi-fi zones in the open air - weather permitting of course.
What was once a playground could become a highly technological learning area as well as a place to play and chill out with friends.
Learning consultant Professor Stephen Heppell sees the constant movement from class to class, that characterises today's schools, as a huge waste of time that is preventable.
He says: "When kids are working with new technology they put their head down and really go for it.
"And yet in so many schools we come to the end of the lesson - we ring a bell, we stop them doing what they are doing and then we take them into another box."
Passing a large volume of children through a narrow opening like a corridor or stairwell is bound to create friction and problems, he says.
All the major incidents of children being injured or stabbed in schools have occurred in corridors, he claims.
But as technological advances allow children's learning to become more varied and complex, he argues, they will become more focused and will enjoy longer lessons.
And so they will not need to change classrooms as much.
"School design stops being about moving large volumes of children efficiently.
"Many corridors can disappear; learning space grows significantly and discipline improves too," says Prof Heppell.
Western Heights College in Victoria, Australia, saw a dramatic improvement in pupil behaviour after they removed walls between classrooms.
This has not only allowed more freedom of movement for pupils, but for teachers too who are now able to collaborate in lessons more easily when they want to.
Copenhagen's Hellerup School has developed a much more open plan approach than the typical Victorian or Edwardian secondary schools that pepper this country.
A wide, wooden staircase doubles as a central assembly hall and a lecture theatre where children use the stairs as seats.
The flexibility with which such a space can be used is key to its success, Mr Watson argues.
"When I think about what is the future of learning, what will education be like in 50 years' time - although I've been in education for more than 30 years - I have to admit that I don't know," he says.
This means schools of the future have to be large-scale open spaces with multiple uses and furniture that can be moved, re-shaped and tucked away, for when it's not needed, he argues.
His redesign of the library at Glasgow Caledonian University features inflatable igloo-like offices which can be blown up when a little bit of privacy is required.
Likewise movable canopies can be wheeled over tables temporarily for all-important acoustic protection from the noise that comes with open-plan space.
Director of the British Council for School Environments Ty Goddard agrees the key to planning schools for future generations is much more complex than just smashing down the walls.
His organisation has produced an Ideas Book to give a helping hand to teachers and officials involved in the process.
"To knock down walls is very refreshing - but it can be a nightmare acoustically too."
Schools like Hellerup work, he says, because they and the pupils were at the heart of the design process.
He says: "Allowing them to have an input means the spaces are relevant and there is a sense of co-creation."
Interestingly there is no fencing around the school site - is the sense of community ownership that keeps it safe.
Mr Goddard says: "I am not saying let's create a 1,000 Hellerups, the design has to be relevant to where we are at."
"But if you give respect you get respect."
Another key feature of defining the shape of tomorrow's schools, he says, has to be the technology of tomorrow.
'Never finished'
"The internet generation already have ICT-rich lives, they have a sophisticated understanding of technology, and sophisticated gaming devices, but it is a sophisticated job harnessing technology for learning."
For Professor Heppell, the answer is not to compete with that technology but to allow it into the school and use it in a productive way.
"It isn't about the ICT system that we have built - it's about reaching out to the systems that are already out there," he says.
As the technology changes, so will the school.
As the headmaster of Hellerup School, Knud Nordentoft, puts it: "The school building is never finished; experience it and rebuild it over time."
Perhaps that is the key lesson for the future.
By Hannah Goff BBC
News education reporter
Ask 10 different experts what schools of the future will look like and you will get 10 different answers.
But one thing upon which they all agree is that the way that pupils are taught and the technology that is used must have a central role in the design.
So planners have to understand what the education of the future will be like to prevent them designing something that will soon become outdated.
Education consultant Les Watson says there is a danger that those planning schools for the future create something that "constricts the learning of the future".
Instead of planning a new school with rows of 1940s desks in them, those involved in the process must "think outside the box".
Mr Watson says: "Currently we run education like a railway - everybody has to be at a particular place at a particular time to catch the learning train.
"With new technology it does not have to be like that."
Lessons can be beamed into classrooms by absent teachers podcasting on the interactive whiteboard.
No corridors
Pupils can use their laptops for independent study in wi-fi zones in the open air - weather permitting of course.
What was once a playground could become a highly technological learning area as well as a place to play and chill out with friends.
Learning consultant Professor Stephen Heppell sees the constant movement from class to class, that characterises today's schools, as a huge waste of time that is preventable.
He says: "When kids are working with new technology they put their head down and really go for it.
"And yet in so many schools we come to the end of the lesson - we ring a bell, we stop them doing what they are doing and then we take them into another box."
Passing a large volume of children through a narrow opening like a corridor or stairwell is bound to create friction and problems, he says.
All the major incidents of children being injured or stabbed in schools have occurred in corridors, he claims.
But as technological advances allow children's learning to become more varied and complex, he argues, they will become more focused and will enjoy longer lessons.
And so they will not need to change classrooms as much.
"School design stops being about moving large volumes of children efficiently.
"Many corridors can disappear; learning space grows significantly and discipline improves too," says Prof Heppell.
Western Heights College in Victoria, Australia, saw a dramatic improvement in pupil behaviour after they removed walls between classrooms.
This has not only allowed more freedom of movement for pupils, but for teachers too who are now able to collaborate in lessons more easily when they want to.
Copenhagen's Hellerup School has developed a much more open plan approach than the typical Victorian or Edwardian secondary schools that pepper this country.
A wide, wooden staircase doubles as a central assembly hall and a lecture theatre where children use the stairs as seats.
The flexibility with which such a space can be used is key to its success, Mr Watson argues.
"When I think about what is the future of learning, what will education be like in 50 years' time - although I've been in education for more than 30 years - I have to admit that I don't know," he says.
This means schools of the future have to be large-scale open spaces with multiple uses and furniture that can be moved, re-shaped and tucked away, for when it's not needed, he argues.
His redesign of the library at Glasgow Caledonian University features inflatable igloo-like offices which can be blown up when a little bit of privacy is required.
Likewise movable canopies can be wheeled over tables temporarily for all-important acoustic protection from the noise that comes with open-plan space.
Director of the British Council for School Environments Ty Goddard agrees the key to planning schools for future generations is much more complex than just smashing down the walls.
His organisation has produced an Ideas Book to give a helping hand to teachers and officials involved in the process.
"To knock down walls is very refreshing - but it can be a nightmare acoustically too."
Schools like Hellerup work, he says, because they and the pupils were at the heart of the design process.
He says: "Allowing them to have an input means the spaces are relevant and there is a sense of co-creation."
Interestingly there is no fencing around the school site - is the sense of community ownership that keeps it safe.
Mr Goddard says: "I am not saying let's create a 1,000 Hellerups, the design has to be relevant to where we are at."
"But if you give respect you get respect."
Another key feature of defining the shape of tomorrow's schools, he says, has to be the technology of tomorrow.
'Never finished'
"The internet generation already have ICT-rich lives, they have a sophisticated understanding of technology, and sophisticated gaming devices, but it is a sophisticated job harnessing technology for learning."
For Professor Heppell, the answer is not to compete with that technology but to allow it into the school and use it in a productive way.
"It isn't about the ICT system that we have built - it's about reaching out to the systems that are already out there," he says.
As the technology changes, so will the school.
As the headmaster of Hellerup School, Knud Nordentoft, puts it: "The school building is never finished; experience it and rebuild it over time."
Perhaps that is the key lesson for the future.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Learning
Source: Wikipedia
Learning is the acquisition and development of memories and behaviors, including skills, knowledge, understanding, values, and wisdom. It is the goal of education, and the product of experience.
Physiology of learning
Thinking can be thought of as a network of neurons firing in a very specific pattern. As neurons are used, they become thicker and more permanent. It follows then, that the stronger the stimulation, and the more common the stimulation, the more likely the stimulus is to be remembered. More so, memory comes easier when multiple parts of the brain (such as hearing, seeing, smelling, motor skills, touch sense, and logical thinking lobes; informal names given) are stimulated.
Learning methods
Observational learning (learning by example)
The most basic learning process is imitation, one's personal repetition of an observed process, such as a smile. Thus an imitation will take one's time (attention to the details), space (a location for learning), skills (or practice), and other resources (for example, a protected area). Through copying, most infants learn how to hunt (i.e., direct one's attention), feed and perform most basic tasks necessary for survival.
Example can be a motivation for learning. Imitation of a role model is a natural mechanism for infants and children, when learning from experience. Child's play is another method for learning by the example of other children, who naturally gain satisfaction by playing the role of teacher or mentor to a less-experienced child.
The sandbox (sandpit) in a playground is an example of a location where children can learn by experience. It is instructive to watch smaller children on a merry-go-round, for example, who naturally push it more slowly than the larger, older, more experienced ones. In order for a little one to get on the merry-go-round, they might simply grab a bar and drag their feet in the sand, while holding on. This slows down the rotation, which allows the little one to climb on, under the oversight of a supervisor, to ensure their physical safety.
Learning "how to learn" is a skill, which can be taught to others, by example.
Approaches to learning
Informal learning
Main article: Informal learning
Informal learning is learning things in our day-to-day situations (if we don't look in front of us while walking, we learn that we run into things and that might be dangerous). It's what daily life practices teach us. It is learning from life, during a meal at table with parents, Play (activity), exploring...
Formal learning
Formal learning is learning that takes place within a teacher-student relationship, such as in a school system.
Non-formal learning is organised learning outside the formal learning system. For example: learning by coming together with people with similar interests and exchanging viewpoints, in clubs or in (international) youth organisations, workshops.
The European Union is actively promoting European Citizenship and offering several programs that enable its citizens to meet other citizens from other countries and cultures for non-formal learning sessions.
Typically funding is offered to projects where groups, youth groups with a similar interest develop a joint workshop so that their members may be able to meet each other, exchange viewpoints during non-formal learning sessions and informal learning during a meal, for example. International instruments concerning non-formal education
An overview of legal aspects of promoting and recognising training activities taking place outside of formal education systems in the EU and worldwide. http://www.logos-net.net/ilo/150_base/en/topic_i/t15_l.htm [EN]
Links to key documents and legislation concerning non-formal education. Website of the European Commission.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/doc/official/index_en.html [EN]
Want to know how youth organisations contribute to non-formal education, or to find information about the recognition of non-formal education in Europe? On this site you will find the studies and reports carried out by this Forum. http://www.youthforum.org/en/our_work/citizenship2.html [EN][FR]
Combined approaches
The educational system may use a combination of formal, informal, and non-formal learning methods. The UN and EU recognise these different forms of learning (cf. links below). In some schools students can get points that count in the formal-learning systems if they get work done in informal-learning circuits. They may be given time to assist international youth workshops and training courses, on the condition they prepare, contribute, share and can proof this offered valuable new insights, helped to acquire new skills, a place to get experience in organising, teaching, etc.
In order to learn a skill, such as solving a Rubik's cube quickly, several factors come into play at once:
Directions help one learn the patterns of solving a Rubik's cube
Practicing the moves repeatedly and for extended time helps with "muscle memory" and therefore speed
Thinking critically about moves helps find shortcuts, which in turn helps to speed up future attempts.
The Rubik's cube's six colors help anchor solving it within the head.
Occasionally revisiting the cube helps prevent loss of skill
History of learning
The history of the development of what is known about learning is the history of education. The history of what man has learned, is history itself.
History of education
The history of education is both long and short. In 1994, Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin, said "education began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". This quote by Lenzen includes the idea that education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before.
Education was the natural response of early civilizations to the struggle of surviving and thriving as a culture. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially.
When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.
Basic education today is considered those skills that are necessary to function in society.
Learning is the acquisition and development of memories and behaviors, including skills, knowledge, understanding, values, and wisdom. It is the goal of education, and the product of experience.
Physiology of learning
Thinking can be thought of as a network of neurons firing in a very specific pattern. As neurons are used, they become thicker and more permanent. It follows then, that the stronger the stimulation, and the more common the stimulation, the more likely the stimulus is to be remembered. More so, memory comes easier when multiple parts of the brain (such as hearing, seeing, smelling, motor skills, touch sense, and logical thinking lobes; informal names given) are stimulated.
Learning methods
Observational learning (learning by example)
The most basic learning process is imitation, one's personal repetition of an observed process, such as a smile. Thus an imitation will take one's time (attention to the details), space (a location for learning), skills (or practice), and other resources (for example, a protected area). Through copying, most infants learn how to hunt (i.e., direct one's attention), feed and perform most basic tasks necessary for survival.
Example can be a motivation for learning. Imitation of a role model is a natural mechanism for infants and children, when learning from experience. Child's play is another method for learning by the example of other children, who naturally gain satisfaction by playing the role of teacher or mentor to a less-experienced child.
The sandbox (sandpit) in a playground is an example of a location where children can learn by experience. It is instructive to watch smaller children on a merry-go-round, for example, who naturally push it more slowly than the larger, older, more experienced ones. In order for a little one to get on the merry-go-round, they might simply grab a bar and drag their feet in the sand, while holding on. This slows down the rotation, which allows the little one to climb on, under the oversight of a supervisor, to ensure their physical safety.
Learning "how to learn" is a skill, which can be taught to others, by example.
Approaches to learning
Informal learning
Main article: Informal learning
Informal learning is learning things in our day-to-day situations (if we don't look in front of us while walking, we learn that we run into things and that might be dangerous). It's what daily life practices teach us. It is learning from life, during a meal at table with parents, Play (activity), exploring...
Formal learning
Formal learning is learning that takes place within a teacher-student relationship, such as in a school system.
Non-formal learning is organised learning outside the formal learning system. For example: learning by coming together with people with similar interests and exchanging viewpoints, in clubs or in (international) youth organisations, workshops.
The European Union is actively promoting European Citizenship and offering several programs that enable its citizens to meet other citizens from other countries and cultures for non-formal learning sessions.
Typically funding is offered to projects where groups, youth groups with a similar interest develop a joint workshop so that their members may be able to meet each other, exchange viewpoints during non-formal learning sessions and informal learning during a meal, for example. International instruments concerning non-formal education
An overview of legal aspects of promoting and recognising training activities taking place outside of formal education systems in the EU and worldwide. http://www.logos-net.net/ilo/150_base/en/topic_i/t15_l.htm [EN]
Links to key documents and legislation concerning non-formal education. Website of the European Commission.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/doc/official/index_en.html [EN]
Want to know how youth organisations contribute to non-formal education, or to find information about the recognition of non-formal education in Europe? On this site you will find the studies and reports carried out by this Forum. http://www.youthforum.org/en/our_work/citizenship2.html [EN][FR]
Combined approaches
The educational system may use a combination of formal, informal, and non-formal learning methods. The UN and EU recognise these different forms of learning (cf. links below). In some schools students can get points that count in the formal-learning systems if they get work done in informal-learning circuits. They may be given time to assist international youth workshops and training courses, on the condition they prepare, contribute, share and can proof this offered valuable new insights, helped to acquire new skills, a place to get experience in organising, teaching, etc.
In order to learn a skill, such as solving a Rubik's cube quickly, several factors come into play at once:
Directions help one learn the patterns of solving a Rubik's cube
Practicing the moves repeatedly and for extended time helps with "muscle memory" and therefore speed
Thinking critically about moves helps find shortcuts, which in turn helps to speed up future attempts.
The Rubik's cube's six colors help anchor solving it within the head.
Occasionally revisiting the cube helps prevent loss of skill
History of learning
The history of the development of what is known about learning is the history of education. The history of what man has learned, is history itself.
History of education
The history of education is both long and short. In 1994, Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin, said "education began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". This quote by Lenzen includes the idea that education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before.
Education was the natural response of early civilizations to the struggle of surviving and thriving as a culture. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially.
When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.
Basic education today is considered those skills that are necessary to function in society.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Faith fuels home education boom
By Tara Gadomski
In New York (news.bbc.co.uk)
Thirteen-year-old Jack August sits on a small sofa in a cozy, carpeted room, reading aloud from a book about knights.
All the while his playful golden retriever, Mighty, tries to sneak up on the sofa when Jack isn't looking.
Jack's mother, Sue, sits alongside, asking him questions about the story.
Earlier in the day, the two performed a science experiment together, using the sofa cushions and a ball fetched from the garage.
This is a just another day for Jack, who is one of the two million students in the US who are homeschooled - taught by their parents at home. And he loves it.
"I like the flexibility. If an opportunity to play tennis or anything else pops up I can do it and just make up the schoolwork later.
"And with the one-on-one instruction, it seems you can move ahead quicker and be at a higher level of learning."
And yes, says Jack, he does socialise with other children.
"I have friends from church, from sports, and I do know other local homeschool kids."
Boom time
Until the 1970s, homeschooling was more of a necessity than a choice for American parents.
"Our Christian faith is pretty strong and we thought this might be the best way to be able to pass on those values"-Homeschooling mother Sue August
It took place mostly in rural areas, where schools could be long distances away and children were needed to help out with the work at home.
But after the publication of several controversial books that criticised institutional schooling, the modern homeschool movement in the US began, with thousands of suburban families joining in.
Still, it was not until recently that the numbers of homeschoolers really exploded - nearly doubling in the last six years.
The National Home Education Research Institute (a pro-homeschool advocacy group) estimates that that around 1.5 million children were educated at home in 2000, but in 2006, the number was closer to 2.5 million.
This increase is due, in large part, to the rise of Christian homeschooling - parents' choosing to teach children at home from a Biblical point of view.
Now there is a vast and highly organised network of Christian homeschooling advocacy groups, legal advisers and curriculum material.
Faith factor
Sue August says she and her husband decided to homeschool Jack even before he was born.
Nothing beats schooling, some say"Our Christian faith is pretty strong and we thought this might be the best way to be able to pass on those values to our son."
Her husband Mark says parents can impart something that teachers can not.
"Character is just as important as academics. And so what we're looking for are character training issues and we would rather do that ourselves."
The Augusts use a Christian-based curriculum for teaching their son.
Legally, they can teach him whatever they want.
"I worry about the lack of accountability in homeschooling "-Wendy PuriefoyPublic Education Network
Homeschool regulations vary state by state in the US, but New Jersey, where the Augusts live, has some of the most lenient. There are no requirements for attendance, training, testing, or even the use of books.
While that may seem highly unorthodox to many people, Mark August says homeschooling is just a different way of looking at the world.
"I understand why people look at the lack of regulation and are taken aback. But who is ultimately responsible for raising the child - is it the parent or the state?" Mark asked.
"From a Biblical standpoint, it's the parents' responsibility. Parents are going to act in the best interest of their children a majority of the time."
Worries
But Wendy Puriefoy, president of the advocacy group Public Education Network, in Washington DC, questions the ability of parents to provide an adequate environment for maturing as well as learning.
"I worry about the lack of accountability in homeschooling," she said.
"I worry about the lack of socialisation for youngsters outside of their families.
"I worry about the access to other kinds of non-academic resources that youngsters have in public schools that you might not have in a homeschooling situation."
Worlds away from Jack's comfortable sofa, a group of teenagers in a New York City public school history class are gearing up for a debate over the ideal form of government.
The classroom is lively and noisy as students hunch over their institutional-style metal desks to prepare their statements and re-check their facts.
Enlightenment
When the debate finally begins the different voices, accents, opinions and academic aptitudes are apparent. But all the students are participating in their own way.
Homeschool advocates might argue that this way of teaching will slow down the brighter children or prevent the slower learners from catching up.
But the students in this classroom say they would not have it any other way.
"When you're at school, you're pushed. Competition brings out the best in you," said 11th-grade student Frank, adding philosophically: "The most enlightened people are those who are enlightened by others."
Another teenager from the class, Julia, points out what she sees as another benefit of going to school.
"I wouldn't want to be around my Mom all day!
"No offence, I love her, you know - but this is a nice little break away from her!"
In New York (news.bbc.co.uk)
Thirteen-year-old Jack August sits on a small sofa in a cozy, carpeted room, reading aloud from a book about knights.
All the while his playful golden retriever, Mighty, tries to sneak up on the sofa when Jack isn't looking.
Jack's mother, Sue, sits alongside, asking him questions about the story.
Earlier in the day, the two performed a science experiment together, using the sofa cushions and a ball fetched from the garage.
This is a just another day for Jack, who is one of the two million students in the US who are homeschooled - taught by their parents at home. And he loves it.
"I like the flexibility. If an opportunity to play tennis or anything else pops up I can do it and just make up the schoolwork later.
"And with the one-on-one instruction, it seems you can move ahead quicker and be at a higher level of learning."
And yes, says Jack, he does socialise with other children.
"I have friends from church, from sports, and I do know other local homeschool kids."
Boom time
Until the 1970s, homeschooling was more of a necessity than a choice for American parents.
"Our Christian faith is pretty strong and we thought this might be the best way to be able to pass on those values"-Homeschooling mother Sue August
It took place mostly in rural areas, where schools could be long distances away and children were needed to help out with the work at home.
But after the publication of several controversial books that criticised institutional schooling, the modern homeschool movement in the US began, with thousands of suburban families joining in.
Still, it was not until recently that the numbers of homeschoolers really exploded - nearly doubling in the last six years.
The National Home Education Research Institute (a pro-homeschool advocacy group) estimates that that around 1.5 million children were educated at home in 2000, but in 2006, the number was closer to 2.5 million.
This increase is due, in large part, to the rise of Christian homeschooling - parents' choosing to teach children at home from a Biblical point of view.
Now there is a vast and highly organised network of Christian homeschooling advocacy groups, legal advisers and curriculum material.
Faith factor
Sue August says she and her husband decided to homeschool Jack even before he was born.
Nothing beats schooling, some say"Our Christian faith is pretty strong and we thought this might be the best way to be able to pass on those values to our son."
Her husband Mark says parents can impart something that teachers can not.
"Character is just as important as academics. And so what we're looking for are character training issues and we would rather do that ourselves."
The Augusts use a Christian-based curriculum for teaching their son.
Legally, they can teach him whatever they want.
"I worry about the lack of accountability in homeschooling "-Wendy PuriefoyPublic Education Network
Homeschool regulations vary state by state in the US, but New Jersey, where the Augusts live, has some of the most lenient. There are no requirements for attendance, training, testing, or even the use of books.
While that may seem highly unorthodox to many people, Mark August says homeschooling is just a different way of looking at the world.
"I understand why people look at the lack of regulation and are taken aback. But who is ultimately responsible for raising the child - is it the parent or the state?" Mark asked.
"From a Biblical standpoint, it's the parents' responsibility. Parents are going to act in the best interest of their children a majority of the time."
Worries
But Wendy Puriefoy, president of the advocacy group Public Education Network, in Washington DC, questions the ability of parents to provide an adequate environment for maturing as well as learning.
"I worry about the lack of accountability in homeschooling," she said.
"I worry about the lack of socialisation for youngsters outside of their families.
"I worry about the access to other kinds of non-academic resources that youngsters have in public schools that you might not have in a homeschooling situation."
Worlds away from Jack's comfortable sofa, a group of teenagers in a New York City public school history class are gearing up for a debate over the ideal form of government.
The classroom is lively and noisy as students hunch over their institutional-style metal desks to prepare their statements and re-check their facts.
Enlightenment
When the debate finally begins the different voices, accents, opinions and academic aptitudes are apparent. But all the students are participating in their own way.
Homeschool advocates might argue that this way of teaching will slow down the brighter children or prevent the slower learners from catching up.
But the students in this classroom say they would not have it any other way.
"When you're at school, you're pushed. Competition brings out the best in you," said 11th-grade student Frank, adding philosophically: "The most enlightened people are those who are enlightened by others."
Another teenager from the class, Julia, points out what she sees as another benefit of going to school.
"I wouldn't want to be around my Mom all day!
"No offence, I love her, you know - but this is a nice little break away from her!"
Monday, March 26, 2007
Philosophy of education
Source: Wikipedia
The philosophy of education is the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. This can be within the context of education as a societal institution or more broadly as the process of human existential growth, i.e. how it is that our understanding of the world is continually transformed (be it from facts, social customs, experiences, or even our own emotions).
History
A chronological summary of the work of some of the most important and influential Western culture educational philosophers follows.
Plato
Plato is the earliest important educational thinker. He saw education as the key to creating and sustaining his Republic. He advocated extreme methods: removing children from their mothers' care and raising them as wards of the state, with great care being taken to differentiate children suitable to the various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. Education would be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline, and rigidly censored music and art.
For Plato the individual was best served by being subordinated to a just society. Plato's belief that talent was distributed non-genetically and thus must be found in children born to all classes moves us away from aristocracy, and Plato builds on this by insisting that those suitably gifted are to be trained by the state so that they may be qualified to assume the role of a ruling class. What this establishes is essentially a system of selective public education premised on the assumption that an educated minority of the population are, by virtue of their education (and inborn educability), sufficient for healthy governance.
Plato should be considered foundational for democratic philosophies of education both because later key thinkers treat him as such, and because, while Plato's methods are autocratic and his motives meritocratic, he nonetheless prefigures much later democratic philosophy of education. This is different in degree rather than kind from most versions of, say, the American experiment with democratic education, which has usually assumed that only some students should be educated to the fullest, while others may, acceptably, fall by the wayside.
Aristotle
Though Aristotle wrote a treatise On Education, this only survives through fragments that have come down to us. We thus know of his philosophy of education primarily through brief passages in other works. Aristotle considered nature, habit and reason to be three equally important forces to be cultivated in education. Thus, for example, he considered repetition to be a key tool to develop good habits. The teacher was to lead the student systematically; this differs, for example, from Socrates' emphasis on questioning his listeners to bring out their own ideas (though the comparison is perhaps unfair since Socrates was dealing with adults).
Aristotle placed great emphasis on balancing the theoretical and practical aspects of subjects taught. Subjects he explicitly mentions as being important included reading, writing and mathematics; music; physical education; literature and history; and a wide range of sciences. He also mentioned the importance of play.
One of education's primary missions for Aristotle, perhaps its most important, was to produce good and virtuous citizens for the polis. All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.
Rousseau
Rousseau (1712-78), though he paid his respects to Plato's philosophy, rejected it as impractical due to the decayed state of society. Rousseau also had a different theory of human development--where Plato held that people are born with skills appropriate to different castes (though he did not regard these skills as being inherited), Rousseau held that there was one developmental process common to all humans. This was an intrinsic, natural process, of which the primary behavioral manifestation was curiosity. This differed from Locke's tabula rasa in that it was an active process deriving from the child's nature, which drove the child to learn and adapt to its surroundings.
As Rousseau wrote in his book Emile, all children are perfectly designed organisms, ready to learn from their surroundings so as to grow into virtuous adults. But, due to the malign influence of corrupt society, they often fail to do so. Rousseau advocated an educational method which consisted of removing the child from society (i.e., to a country home) and alternately conditioning him through changes to environment and setting traps and puzzles for him to solve or overcome.
Rousseau was unusual in that he recognized and addressed the potential of a problem of legitimation for teaching. He advocated that adults always be truthful with children, and in particular that they never hide the fact that the basis for their authority in teaching was purely one of physical coercion--"I'm bigger than you." Once children reached the age of reason (about 12), they would be engaged as free individuals in the ongoing process of their own.
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), a philosopher and writer, created a holistic educational impulse that has become known as Waldorf Education. He emphasizes a balance of developing the intellect (or head), feeling and artistic life (or heart), and practical skills (or hands). The education focuses on producing free individuals, and Steiner expected it to enable a new, freer social order to arise, through the creative, free human beings that it would develop.
Waldorf Education is based on Steiner's philosophy, known as anthroposophy, and divides education into three discrete developmental stages; these stages predate but have close similarities to Piaget's stages of child development.
Throughout the education, a great importance is placed upon having free and creative individuals as teachers; thus, schools should have an appropriate amount of freedom to shape their own curriculum and teachers should have a corresponding freedom to shape the daily life of the classroom. In order for such a system to function, intensive work must take place both amongst teachers within schools and between schools to provide the necessary communication, training and development.
Waldorf education includes a respect for children's physical nature, rhythmic life (technical term: ether body), consciousness (technical term: astral body) and individuality (ego). Anthroposophy includes teachings about reincarnation and schools often try to foster an awareness that each human being - and thus each child - carries a unique being into this earthly life.
As both an independent educational model and a major influence upon other educators - such as Maria Montessori - Waldorf education is currently both one of the largest and one of the fastest growing educational movements in the world. Waldorf schools are also increasingly operating as state-funded (in the U.S.A. charter) schools or even state-run (in the U.S.A. public) schools.
B.F. Skinner
One of B.F. Skinner's (1904-90) contributions to education philosophy is his text Walden Two wherein he details the failings of society and education, as one is intricately and intrinsically linked to the other. The pedagogical methods direct instruction and precision teaching owe much to his ideas. Behaviorist theories play largely in his proposed ideas of social engineering.
Precision Teaching, developed by Skinner's student Ogden Lindsley, uses the basic philosophy that the "learner knows best". Each learner is charted on a unique graph known as a "Standard Celeration Chart". The record of the rate of learning is tracked by this charting and decisions can be made from these data concerning changes in an educational program.
Paulo Freire
A Brazilian who became committed to the cause of educating the impoverished peasants of his nation and collaborating with them in the pursuit of their liberation from oppression, Paulo Freire (1921-97) contributes a philosophy of education that comes not only from the more classical approaches stemming from Plato, but also from modern Marxist and anti-colonialist thinkers. In fact, in many ways his Pedagogy of the Oppressed may best be read as an extension of or reply to Frantz Fanon's Wretched of the Earth, which laid strong emphasis on the need to provide native populations with an education which was simultaneously new and modern (rather than traditional) and anti-colonial (that is, that was not simply an extension of the culture of the colonizer).
Freire is best-known for his attack on what he called the banking concept of education, in which the student was viewed as an empty account to be filled by the teacher. Of course, this is not really a new move--Rousseau's conception of the child as an active learner was already a step away from the tabula rasa (which is basically the same as the "banking concept"), and thinkers like John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead were strongly critical of the transmission of mere facts as the goal of education.
More challenging, however, is Freire's strong aversion to the teacher-student dichotomy. This dichotomy is admitted in Rousseau and constrained in Dewey, but Freire comes close to insisting that it should be completely abolished. Critics have argued that this is impossible (there must be some enactment of the teacher-student relationship in the parent-child relationship), but what Freire suggests is that a deep reciprocity be inserted into our notions of teacher and student. Freire wants us to think in terms of teacher-student and student-teacher, that is, a teacher who learns and a learner who teaches, as the basic roles of classroom participation.
This is one of the few attempts anywhere to implement something like democracy as an educational method and not merely a goal of democratic education. Even Dewey, for whom democracy was a touchstone, did not integrate democratic practices fully into his methods. (Though this is in part a function of his peculiar attitudes toward individuality and his idea of democracy as a way of living rather than merely a polticial practice or method.) However, in its early, strong form this kind of classroom has sometimes been criticized on the grounds that it can mask rather than overcome the teacher's authority.
Freire's work is widely-read by educationalists but is less well-respected among philosophers.[citation needed]
Aspects of the Freirian philosophy have been highly influential in academic debates over 'participatory development' and development more generally. Freire's emphasis on emancipation through interactive participation has been used as a rationale for the participatory focus of development, as it is held that 'participation' in any fora can lead to empowerment of poor or marginalised groups. Critics argue that the inherently undemocratic, unequal nature of development projects forecloses any possibility of Freirian emancipation, but many cling to the 'empowering potential' of development.
Neil Postman and the Inquiry Method
Neil Postman has been a strong contemporary voice in both methods and philosophy of education. His 1969 book "Teaching as a Subversive Activity" (co-authored with Charles Weingartner) introduced the concept of a school driven by the inquiry method, the basis of which is to get the students themselves to ask and answer relevant questions. The "teacher" (the two authors disdained the term and thought a new one should be used) would be limited in the number of declarative sentences he could utter per class, as well as questions he personally knew the answer to. The aim of this type of inquiry would be to provide the conditions for students to build progressively what they don't know on top of what they do, and for the teacher to understand, through close listening, what the student knows, from where he/she can continue to provide the conditions for the learner to progress, and develop their understanding. This may be opposed to methods based on answers and knowing rather than understanding.
Postman went on to write several more books on education, notably "Teaching as a Conserving Activity" and "The End of Education." The latter deals with the importance of goals or "gods" to students, and Postman suggests several "gods" capable of replacing the current ones offered in schools, namely, Economic Utility and Consumerism.
Jerome Bruner
Another important contributer to the inquiry method in education is Jerome Bruner. His books "The Process of Education" and "Toward a Theory of Instruction" are landmarks in conceptualizing learning and curriculum development. He argued that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. This notion was an underpinning for his concept of the spiral curriculum which posited the idea that a curriculum should revisit basic ideas, building on them until the student had grasped the full formal concept. He emphasized intuition as a neglected but essential feature of productive thinking. He felt that interest in the material being learned was the best stimulis for learning rather than external motivation such as grades. Bruner developed the concept of discovery learning which promoted learning as a process of constructing new ideas based on current or past knowledge. Students are encouraged to discover facts and relationships and continually build on what they already know.
John Taylor Gatto
Spiritual successor to The Hidden Curriculum, Gatto takes a historical view of educational systems as primarily and purposefully socializing and normative, as opposed to the stated goal as a vehicle for individual personal development.
Critical responses and counter-philosophies
Critics have accused the philosophy of education of being one the weakest subfields of both philosophy and education, disconnected from philosophy (by being insufficiently rigorous for the tastes of many "real" philosophers) and from the broader study and practice of education (by being too philosophical, too theoretical).
Its proponents state that it is an exacting and critical branch of philosophy and point out that there are few major philosophers who have not written on education, and who do not consider the philosophy of education a necessity. For example, Plato undertakes to discuss all these elements in The Republic, beginning the formulation of educational philosophy that endures today.
The philosophy of education is the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. This can be within the context of education as a societal institution or more broadly as the process of human existential growth, i.e. how it is that our understanding of the world is continually transformed (be it from facts, social customs, experiences, or even our own emotions).
History
A chronological summary of the work of some of the most important and influential Western culture educational philosophers follows.
Plato
Plato is the earliest important educational thinker. He saw education as the key to creating and sustaining his Republic. He advocated extreme methods: removing children from their mothers' care and raising them as wards of the state, with great care being taken to differentiate children suitable to the various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. Education would be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline, and rigidly censored music and art.
For Plato the individual was best served by being subordinated to a just society. Plato's belief that talent was distributed non-genetically and thus must be found in children born to all classes moves us away from aristocracy, and Plato builds on this by insisting that those suitably gifted are to be trained by the state so that they may be qualified to assume the role of a ruling class. What this establishes is essentially a system of selective public education premised on the assumption that an educated minority of the population are, by virtue of their education (and inborn educability), sufficient for healthy governance.
Plato should be considered foundational for democratic philosophies of education both because later key thinkers treat him as such, and because, while Plato's methods are autocratic and his motives meritocratic, he nonetheless prefigures much later democratic philosophy of education. This is different in degree rather than kind from most versions of, say, the American experiment with democratic education, which has usually assumed that only some students should be educated to the fullest, while others may, acceptably, fall by the wayside.
Aristotle
Though Aristotle wrote a treatise On Education, this only survives through fragments that have come down to us. We thus know of his philosophy of education primarily through brief passages in other works. Aristotle considered nature, habit and reason to be three equally important forces to be cultivated in education. Thus, for example, he considered repetition to be a key tool to develop good habits. The teacher was to lead the student systematically; this differs, for example, from Socrates' emphasis on questioning his listeners to bring out their own ideas (though the comparison is perhaps unfair since Socrates was dealing with adults).
Aristotle placed great emphasis on balancing the theoretical and practical aspects of subjects taught. Subjects he explicitly mentions as being important included reading, writing and mathematics; music; physical education; literature and history; and a wide range of sciences. He also mentioned the importance of play.
One of education's primary missions for Aristotle, perhaps its most important, was to produce good and virtuous citizens for the polis. All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.
Rousseau
Rousseau (1712-78), though he paid his respects to Plato's philosophy, rejected it as impractical due to the decayed state of society. Rousseau also had a different theory of human development--where Plato held that people are born with skills appropriate to different castes (though he did not regard these skills as being inherited), Rousseau held that there was one developmental process common to all humans. This was an intrinsic, natural process, of which the primary behavioral manifestation was curiosity. This differed from Locke's tabula rasa in that it was an active process deriving from the child's nature, which drove the child to learn and adapt to its surroundings.
As Rousseau wrote in his book Emile, all children are perfectly designed organisms, ready to learn from their surroundings so as to grow into virtuous adults. But, due to the malign influence of corrupt society, they often fail to do so. Rousseau advocated an educational method which consisted of removing the child from society (i.e., to a country home) and alternately conditioning him through changes to environment and setting traps and puzzles for him to solve or overcome.
Rousseau was unusual in that he recognized and addressed the potential of a problem of legitimation for teaching. He advocated that adults always be truthful with children, and in particular that they never hide the fact that the basis for their authority in teaching was purely one of physical coercion--"I'm bigger than you." Once children reached the age of reason (about 12), they would be engaged as free individuals in the ongoing process of their own.
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), a philosopher and writer, created a holistic educational impulse that has become known as Waldorf Education. He emphasizes a balance of developing the intellect (or head), feeling and artistic life (or heart), and practical skills (or hands). The education focuses on producing free individuals, and Steiner expected it to enable a new, freer social order to arise, through the creative, free human beings that it would develop.
Waldorf Education is based on Steiner's philosophy, known as anthroposophy, and divides education into three discrete developmental stages; these stages predate but have close similarities to Piaget's stages of child development.
Throughout the education, a great importance is placed upon having free and creative individuals as teachers; thus, schools should have an appropriate amount of freedom to shape their own curriculum and teachers should have a corresponding freedom to shape the daily life of the classroom. In order for such a system to function, intensive work must take place both amongst teachers within schools and between schools to provide the necessary communication, training and development.
Waldorf education includes a respect for children's physical nature, rhythmic life (technical term: ether body), consciousness (technical term: astral body) and individuality (ego). Anthroposophy includes teachings about reincarnation and schools often try to foster an awareness that each human being - and thus each child - carries a unique being into this earthly life.
As both an independent educational model and a major influence upon other educators - such as Maria Montessori - Waldorf education is currently both one of the largest and one of the fastest growing educational movements in the world. Waldorf schools are also increasingly operating as state-funded (in the U.S.A. charter) schools or even state-run (in the U.S.A. public) schools.
B.F. Skinner
One of B.F. Skinner's (1904-90) contributions to education philosophy is his text Walden Two wherein he details the failings of society and education, as one is intricately and intrinsically linked to the other. The pedagogical methods direct instruction and precision teaching owe much to his ideas. Behaviorist theories play largely in his proposed ideas of social engineering.
Precision Teaching, developed by Skinner's student Ogden Lindsley, uses the basic philosophy that the "learner knows best". Each learner is charted on a unique graph known as a "Standard Celeration Chart". The record of the rate of learning is tracked by this charting and decisions can be made from these data concerning changes in an educational program.
Paulo Freire
A Brazilian who became committed to the cause of educating the impoverished peasants of his nation and collaborating with them in the pursuit of their liberation from oppression, Paulo Freire (1921-97) contributes a philosophy of education that comes not only from the more classical approaches stemming from Plato, but also from modern Marxist and anti-colonialist thinkers. In fact, in many ways his Pedagogy of the Oppressed may best be read as an extension of or reply to Frantz Fanon's Wretched of the Earth, which laid strong emphasis on the need to provide native populations with an education which was simultaneously new and modern (rather than traditional) and anti-colonial (that is, that was not simply an extension of the culture of the colonizer).
Freire is best-known for his attack on what he called the banking concept of education, in which the student was viewed as an empty account to be filled by the teacher. Of course, this is not really a new move--Rousseau's conception of the child as an active learner was already a step away from the tabula rasa (which is basically the same as the "banking concept"), and thinkers like John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead were strongly critical of the transmission of mere facts as the goal of education.
More challenging, however, is Freire's strong aversion to the teacher-student dichotomy. This dichotomy is admitted in Rousseau and constrained in Dewey, but Freire comes close to insisting that it should be completely abolished. Critics have argued that this is impossible (there must be some enactment of the teacher-student relationship in the parent-child relationship), but what Freire suggests is that a deep reciprocity be inserted into our notions of teacher and student. Freire wants us to think in terms of teacher-student and student-teacher, that is, a teacher who learns and a learner who teaches, as the basic roles of classroom participation.
This is one of the few attempts anywhere to implement something like democracy as an educational method and not merely a goal of democratic education. Even Dewey, for whom democracy was a touchstone, did not integrate democratic practices fully into his methods. (Though this is in part a function of his peculiar attitudes toward individuality and his idea of democracy as a way of living rather than merely a polticial practice or method.) However, in its early, strong form this kind of classroom has sometimes been criticized on the grounds that it can mask rather than overcome the teacher's authority.
Freire's work is widely-read by educationalists but is less well-respected among philosophers.[citation needed]
Aspects of the Freirian philosophy have been highly influential in academic debates over 'participatory development' and development more generally. Freire's emphasis on emancipation through interactive participation has been used as a rationale for the participatory focus of development, as it is held that 'participation' in any fora can lead to empowerment of poor or marginalised groups. Critics argue that the inherently undemocratic, unequal nature of development projects forecloses any possibility of Freirian emancipation, but many cling to the 'empowering potential' of development.
Neil Postman and the Inquiry Method
Neil Postman has been a strong contemporary voice in both methods and philosophy of education. His 1969 book "Teaching as a Subversive Activity" (co-authored with Charles Weingartner) introduced the concept of a school driven by the inquiry method, the basis of which is to get the students themselves to ask and answer relevant questions. The "teacher" (the two authors disdained the term and thought a new one should be used) would be limited in the number of declarative sentences he could utter per class, as well as questions he personally knew the answer to. The aim of this type of inquiry would be to provide the conditions for students to build progressively what they don't know on top of what they do, and for the teacher to understand, through close listening, what the student knows, from where he/she can continue to provide the conditions for the learner to progress, and develop their understanding. This may be opposed to methods based on answers and knowing rather than understanding.
Postman went on to write several more books on education, notably "Teaching as a Conserving Activity" and "The End of Education." The latter deals with the importance of goals or "gods" to students, and Postman suggests several "gods" capable of replacing the current ones offered in schools, namely, Economic Utility and Consumerism.
Jerome Bruner
Another important contributer to the inquiry method in education is Jerome Bruner. His books "The Process of Education" and "Toward a Theory of Instruction" are landmarks in conceptualizing learning and curriculum development. He argued that any subject can be taught in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. This notion was an underpinning for his concept of the spiral curriculum which posited the idea that a curriculum should revisit basic ideas, building on them until the student had grasped the full formal concept. He emphasized intuition as a neglected but essential feature of productive thinking. He felt that interest in the material being learned was the best stimulis for learning rather than external motivation such as grades. Bruner developed the concept of discovery learning which promoted learning as a process of constructing new ideas based on current or past knowledge. Students are encouraged to discover facts and relationships and continually build on what they already know.
John Taylor Gatto
Spiritual successor to The Hidden Curriculum, Gatto takes a historical view of educational systems as primarily and purposefully socializing and normative, as opposed to the stated goal as a vehicle for individual personal development.
Critical responses and counter-philosophies
Critics have accused the philosophy of education of being one the weakest subfields of both philosophy and education, disconnected from philosophy (by being insufficiently rigorous for the tastes of many "real" philosophers) and from the broader study and practice of education (by being too philosophical, too theoretical).
Its proponents state that it is an exacting and critical branch of philosophy and point out that there are few major philosophers who have not written on education, and who do not consider the philosophy of education a necessity. For example, Plato undertakes to discuss all these elements in The Republic, beginning the formulation of educational philosophy that endures today.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Education in Singapore
Source: Wikipedia
Education in Singapore is managed by Ministry of Education (MOE), which directs education policy. The ministry controls the development and administration of public schools which receive government funding but also has an advisory and supervisory role to private schools. For both private and public schools, there are variations in the extent of autonomy in their curriculum, scope of government aid and funding, tuition burden on the students, and admission policy.
Children with disabilities attend special special education (SPED) schools run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs), which are and partially funded by the Ministry of Education. Education spending usually makes up about 20 percent of the annual national budget, which subsidises public education and government-assisted private education for Singaporean citizens and furnishes the Edusave programme, but the costs are significantly higher for non-citizens.
In 2000 the Parliament of Singapore passed the Compulsory Education Act, which codified compulsory education for children of elementary school age, and made it a criminal offence if parents fail to enroll their children in school and ensure their regular attendance. Exemptions are allowed for homeschooling or full-time religious institutions, but parents must apply for exemption from the Ministry of Education and meet a minimum benchmark.
In Singapore, the English language is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction by the time they reach primary school. English is the language of instruction for most subjects, especially mathematics and the natural sciences, except where other languages are concerned. Certain schools, such as secondary schools under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) which encourages a richer use of the mother tongue may teach occasionally in English and another language. There are also other schools which have been experimenting with curricula that integrate language subjects with mathematics and the sciences, using both English and a second language.
Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew related the idea of English as a common language in Singapore that both connected citizens of all ethnic-cultural backgrounds, so no ethnic group is forced to learn the language of another, and tied Singapore to the world economy.
Kindergartens
Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school for children ages three to six. The three years are commonly called Nursery, Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2), respectively.
Kindergartens provide an environment for children to learn how to communicate, play, and interact with others, and to prepare them for the start of formal education in primary schools. Activities include learning of language and numbers, development of personal and social skills, games, music, outdoor play. Children learn two languages, English and their mother tongue (Chinese, Malay, or Tamil).
The kindergartens are run by the private sector, including community foundations, religious bodies, and civic or business groups. There are more than 200 kindergartens registered with the Ministry of Education. Kindergartens are also run by child care centres as well as international schools.
Primary education
Primary education is a four-year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is free, though there is a fee of up to SGD 13 monthly per student that goes to the school to help cover miscellaneous costs.
Foundation stage
The foundation stage is the first stage of formal schooling. The four years, from primary 1 to 4, provide a foundation in English, mother tongue (which includes Chinese, Malay, Tamil and another Non-Tamil Indian Language (NTIL)) and Mathematics. Other subjects include civics and ethics ("Civics and Moral Education"), arts and crafts, music, health education, social studies, and physical education, which are taught throughout Primary 1 to 6. Science is taught from Primary 3 onwards.
Orientation stage
All students advance to the orientation stage after Primary 4, where English Language, Mother Tongue and Mathematics are taught at the appropriate level according to the ability of the student. Schools are given the flexibility to develop their own examinations to match students with the levels that suit them.
Primary School Leaving Examination
At the end of Primary 6, the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is held. The examination determines whether the student is ready to leave primary school by passing; however the primary purpose of the examination is to eventually allocate places in secondary school to students based on their performance in the examination.Urdu is one of the Non-Tamil Language, which is supported & taught by Urdu Development Society (Singapore) UDSS (more info at http://www.UrduSchoolSingapore.org )
Secondary education
Based on results of the PSLE, students are placed in different secondary education tracks or streams: "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", or "Normal (Technical)"
Both Special and Express are four-year courses leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary-level (O-level) exam. The difference between Special and Express is that the former's native languages — English and the mother tongue — are taught at a higher level as Higher Mother Tongue, and are thus more difficult. A foreign language, either French, German, or Japanese can be taken in addition to the mother tongue or can replace it. This is especially popular with students who are struggling with their mother tongues, expatriates students returning from abroad. Non-Chinese students may also study Chinese and non-Malay students Malay as a third language. This programme is known as CSP (Chinese Special Program) and MSP (Malay Special Program). Mother Tongue teachers will conduct these lessons in school after usual hours. Students of Higher Mother Tongue languages are allowed to have two points taken off their O-level scoring, a scoring system discussed below where a lower value is generally considered better. The Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) provides tuition-free language education for most additional languages that other schools may not cover, and provides the bulk of such education, admitting several thousand students each year.
Normal is a four-year course leading up to a Normal-level (N-level) exam, with the possibility of a fifth year followed by an O-level. Normal is split into Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). In Normal (Technical) students take subjects more technical in nature, such as Design and Technology, while in Normal (Academic) students are prepared to take the O-level exam and normally take subjects such as Principles of Accounting. In 2004, the Ministry of Education announced that selected students in the Normal course would have an opportunity to sit for the O-level exam directly without first taking the N-level exam.
With the exception of schools offering the Integrated Programme, which leads to either an International Baccalaureate Diploma or to an A-level exam, most students are streamed into a wide range of course combinations at the end of their second year, making the total number of subject they have to sit for at O-level ranging between six to ten subjects with English, Mother Tongue or Higher Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics, one Science and one Humanities Elective being compulsory. The subject taken varies, and several new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama are being introduced in tandem with the Ministry of Education's revised curriculum. The subjects usually taken at O-Level:
The Ministry of Education Language Centre.
Languages group:
English language
Mother tongue languages (Chinese language, Malay language and Tamil language)
Non-Tamil Indian Languages (Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu languages)
Higher Mother Tongue Languages (Higher Chinese language, Higher Malay language and Higher Tamil language)
Foreign Languages (French, German, Japanese)
Other Third Languages (Chinese language and Malay language)
Humanities group:
Humanities electives (History/geography/literature electives and social studies)
History
Geography
Literature in English
Chinese literature
Malay literature
Higher art (Art Elective Programme)
Higher music (Music Elective Programme)
Mathematics & Science Group:
Mathematics
Additional mathematics
Combined sciences (Physics & Chemistry)
Combined sciences (Chemistry & Biology)
Combined sciences (Biology & Physics)
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Others:
General art
Design and technology
Music
Food and nutrition
Religious studies (Confucian Ethics, Buddhist Studies, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Bible Studies, Sikh Studies etc.)
The list above is not exhaustive, and does not include new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama, or less common subjects, such as Integrated Sciences.
Grade and scoring systems
Most schools commonly follow the kind of grading system awarded at the Singapore-Cambridge GCE "O" level examination, for which a student sits for at the end of four or five years of secondary education, sitting for at least 6 subjects. The level of achievement in each subject is indicated by the grade obtained, with A1 being the highest achievable grade and F9 the lowest:
A1/A2 (Distinction)
B3/B4 (Merit)
C5/C6 (Credit/Pass)
D7 (Sub-Pass, that is, passing at a lower standard examination)
E8/F9 (Fail)
A student's overall academic performance is measured through several points scoring system (such as the L1R5, L1B5 and L1R4 scoring system) depending on which type of post-secondary institution a student is intending to apply for. Each grade has a point value respective to it, for example, with grade A1 being 1 point, A2 being 2 points, and B3 being 3 points. Thus, the fewer the points obtained, the better the score. For example, in the L1R5 scoring system, the student's L1 or first language (either English or Higher Mother Tongue Language) and R5 or relevant 5 subjects (which must include at least one from the Science & Mathematics group, one from the Humanities group, and excluding subjects such as Religious Studies, Mother Tongue "B" and CCA). Consequently, a L1R5 score of 6 points is considered to be the best score attainable for entrance to a Junior College.
For non-major examinations, several schools use a Mean Subject Grade (MSG) scoring system, while schools running the Integrated Programme (IP) may also use the Grade Point Assessment (GPA) scoring system.
Co-Curricular activities
"Co-Curricular Activities" (CCA) are compulsory at the secondary level, where all pupils must participate in at least one core activity, and participation is graded together with other achievement throughout the four years in a scoring system known as LEAPS ("Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation, Service"). Without a CCA, one cannot study at a Junior College after the O-levels, despite the cut-off point. There are many co-curricular activities offered at the secondary level, varying at each school and each student is judged based in these areas. Competitions and performances are regularly organized. Co-curricular activites are often categorized under the following: Uniformed Groups, Performing Arts, Clubs & Societies and Sports & Games. Students can have up to 2 CCAs.
Uniformed Groups
The main uniform groups are NCC (National Cadet Corps), NPCC (National Police Cadet Corps), NCDCC (National Civil Defence Cadet Corps), St John Ambluance Brigade, Red Cross Youth, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, the Boys Brigade and the Girls Brigade. Students are expected to learn drills and wear the respective uniforms, hence the name.
Performing Arts
Performing Arts CCAs can vary, although most will include the Choir, Military/Concert/Symphonic Band, Dance groups for different ethnic culture, Drama and Debate. Most here are oriented on performing and the musical arts.
Clubs & Societies
Clubs and societies are a wide variety, ranging from Youth Flying Club to Robotics and Media.
Sports & Games
Sports are mainly focused on competitive games, like Track and Field (running, jumping, throwing), volleyball, netball, basketball, archery, table tennis, badminton, tennis, gymnastics and more.
Gifted Education Programme
The Gifted Education Programme (GEP) was set up by the Ministry of Education in 1984 amid some public concern to cater to the intellectually gifted students. As of 2005, the schools participating consisted of 9 primary schools — Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Catholic High School (Primary), Henry Park Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Rosyth School, Tao Nan School, St. Hilda's Primary School, and Raffles Girls' Primary School. 7 secondary schools originally started the programme, but with the introduction of the Integrated Programme, most have included the GEP programmes into their IP curriculum. The two remaining secondary GEP schools are Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), an independent all-boys IP School, and Dunman High School, a mixed autonomous government school; the autonomous all-boys Victoria School had to suspend GEP classes due to low enrolment with GEP students preferring IP schools (similarly, Dunman High had their classes cut from two to one in 2004).
Pupils enter the programme through a series of tests at Primary 3, which will identify the top 1 percent of the student population. A second selection is conducted at Primary 6 for those who do well in the PSLE. In the programme, pupils are offered special enrichment programmes to cater to their needs. However, not all students in GEP are successful. Some are not accustomed to the fast pace of study which affected their performance in the core subjects and may choose not to continue the programme at the secondary level.
The Gifted Education Programme will be discontinued as of end-2008 as more students take the Integrated Programme (IP).
Integrated Programme
The Integrated Programme, also known as the "Through-Train Programme" (直通车), is a scheme which allows the cream of secondary schools in Singapore to bypass the "O" levels and take the "A" levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent examination directly at the age of 18 after six years of secondary education.
The programme allows for more time to be allocated to enrichment activities. By bypassing the GCE "O" level examinations, the students are supposedly given more time and flexibility to immerse themselves in a more broad base education which will eventually lead to the GCE "A" levels examination. In addition, the students enjoy more freedom in the combination of subjects between Year 1 - 4 as compared to their non-IP counterparts. Generally, only the top performers (usually from Special, and sometimes Express, stream) are eligible to be part of the IP programme. This will ensure that the main body of the students pursue their secondary education at their own pace by first completing a 4-year O Level before going on to a 2-year "A" level education (as opposed to a 2-year "O" level and 4-year "A" level education).
As a result, schools under this IP programme allow their students to skip the "O" levels at Secondary 4 and go straight into junior colleges (JCs) in Year5/JC1. The Integrated Programme or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme has become an increasingly popular alternative to normal secondary education as it is seen to have moved away from the emphasis on the mere sciences, a side effect from the post-independence need for quick and basic education, to more refined subjects such as philosophy or political science, as well as the fact that scientific concepts are more highly stressed than before, as it is judged on the work of the student, rather than through an examination.
The first batch of IP students will be sitting for the revised GCE "A" Level or International Baccalaureate Diploma examinations in 2007.
Some of the schools which offer the IP / IB programmes in Singapore are:
Dunman High School (IP)+(Bicultural Studies Programme)
National Junior College (IP)
Temasek Junior College (IP)
Hwa Chong Institution (IP)
Anglo Chinese School Independent (IB programme)
Raffles Junior College (IP)
Victoria Junior College (IP)
NUS High School (NUS diploma)
Nanyang Girls' High School(IP)+(Bicultural Studies Programme)
Admission to post-secondary institutions
Admission to a two-year pre-university course at junior colleges after graduating secondary school is determined by the L1R5 (first language + 5 relevant subjects) scoring system. This scoring system is based on the 'O' Level subject grades, which range from A1 (best) to F9 (worst). The candidate adds the numerical grades for six different subjects: English (or another language taken at the 'first language' level), a Humanities subject, a Science/Mathematics subject, a Humanities/Science/Mathematics subject, and two other subjects of any kind. The best L1R5 unmodified score is therefore 6, for a student with A1 grades in six subjects which meet the criteria given.
Students scoring 20 points and below can be admitted for either a Science or Arts Course. In addition, a student must also achieve at least a C6 grade, which is 50% or higher, in the GCE 'O' Level English Language and Mathematics papers in order to qualify for junior college admission. Junior colleges associated with academic excellence, however, usually expect students to attain points in the single digits, in order to be admitted. This is because the system is merit-driven, with places given to those with lower scores first.
For admission to a three-year pre-university course at the Millennia Institute, the L1B5 (first language + 5 best subjects of any kind) scoring system is used and students are expected to score below 20 points being admitted. Students can opt for any of the science, arts or commerce streams when pursuing a three-year pre-university course in Centralised Institutes.
For students seeking admission to diploma courses in polytechnics, the L1R4 (first language + 4 relevant subjects) scoring system is used. However, students will also be required to meet specific pre-requisites outlined by the different polytechnic schools they are applying for. Students applying for courses in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Colleges will also have an independent scoring system dependent on the course they are applying for.
Bonus points can be deducted from a student's raw score, thus lowering it. These bonus points may come from either scoring an 'A' or 'B' grade in CCA, taking Higher Mother Tongue Language and obtaining a minimum of 'D7', or through affiliation (for feeder schools). Bonus points are capped at 4, with exception for those applying to schools offering Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) or Malay Language Elective Programme (MLEP).
Pre-university
The Provisional Admission Exercise is a transitional period of 3 months in junior colleges that allows students to have a 'feel' of JC life.
Main article: List of junior colleges in Singapore
Pre-university centres of Singapore consists of 17 Junior Colleges (JCs) and a sole Centralised Institute (CI), with the National Junior College (NJC) (established 1969) being the oldest and Innova Junior College (IJC) (established 2005) the youngest. Junior colleges and centralised institute are tailored for academically inclined students (approximately top 25% of the cohort) who wish to pursue a University degree after a 2-3 years pre-university education, rather than stopping after polytechnic post-secondary education. Students in most junior colleges and centralised institute pay a subsidised school fees of S$6 and up to S$22 per month for other miscellaneous equipment and special programmes fees. However, certain independent junior colleges, such as Raffles Junior College and Hwa Chong Institution, will require new students to pay a higher school fees at S$300 per month.
Junior Colleges (JCs) accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1R5 score of less than or equals to 20 points must be attained for a student to gain admission. JCs provide a 2-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level ("A" level) examination. Centralised Institutes (CIs) accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1R4 score of less than or equals to 20 points must be attained for a student to gain admission. Millennia Institute, the only CI in Singapore, provides a 3-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level ("A" level) examination.
Scholarships and bursaries are provided for students whose score was within the 95th percentile from the O-levels, and for students requiring financial assistance. Under these schemes, they are only required to pay an amount equivalent to the school fees of a non-independent junior college. Bursary holders are required to pay a fraction of the full fees, based on their family income. A student whose household salary is S$2000 (75% of an average Singapore household income) is required to pay 75% of the full school fees, while another whose household income is less than S$1000 per month only has to pay 25%.
Singapore-Cambridge GCE "Advanced" Level Curriculum & Examinations
From January 2006, the two-year and three-year pre-university curriculum framework in pre-university centres will be replaced with a new and revised curriculum with the first batch of students sitting for the GCE "A" Level examinations in 2007. In this newly enforced curriculum, the system of categorising subjects according to "Alternative Ordinary (AO)", "Advanced (A)" and "Special (S)" papers or levels has been scrapped and is replaced with the Higher One (H1), Higher 2 (H2) and Higher 3 (H3) categories. H1 subjects are worth 1 Academic Units (AU), H2 subjects 2 AUs, H3 subjects 1 AUs and students are expected to take a minimum of 10 AUs (viz. 3H2+1H1) and a maximum of 12 AUs (viz. 4H2) inclusive of Mother Tongue Language (MTL), Project Work and General Paper or Knowledge & Inquiry. Students who have taken Higher Mother Tongue language paper at the GCE "O" Level and have obtained a minimum grade of 'D7' are exempted from taking formal MTL lessons and examinations, albeit still having to attend MTL-related enrichment and not being allowed to replace the MTL unit with another subject as MTL is still regarded as an integral component of the curriculum.
In tandem with the MOE's aim of achieving more depth rather than mere breadth, the H1 and H2 categories complement each other; in general, a subject taken at H1 is half the breadth of that taken at H2, but is of the same depth and difficulty. For example, students studying Mathematics at H1 will study lesser Pure Mathematics topics (which are largely Physics-related) than those studying Mathematics at H2, but will still face the same depth and difficulty in similar topics (such as Statistics). As such, a H1 paper can theoretically be said to be half of the content of a H2 paper albeit being at equal depth and difficulty (as opposed to how "AO" level subjects were merely easier papers than the "A" level subjects previously). Subsequently, for certain subjects such as History, students taking the subject at H1 level will only sit for Paper 1 (International History from 1945-2000), while students taking the subject at H2 level will sit for the same Paper 1 (International History from 1945-2000) in addition to having to sit for Paper 2 (Southeast Asian History from 1900-1997) as well. Students taking Science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry or Biology at H1 will only sit for the Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) and one written paper, and are not required to take the SPA or Practical examination as those taking the subjects at H2. Consequently, this new grouping system bears some semblance to the International Baccalaureate Diploma A1/A2/SL/HL grouping system.
Syllabus wise, the new curriculum framework gives students more choice of subjects to choose from and enables more permutations of subject combinations. However, unlike in the old curriculum which was criticised for being too specialised and unholistic, students are now required to take up at least one contrasting subject - i.e. Science students have to take up at least one Arts/Humanities subject, while Arts/Humanities students must take up at least one Science-based subject. For example, subjects previously not available to Arts/Humanities students such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology are now made possible at both H1 and H2 levels, while Science students now have more choice of doing an Arts/Humanities subject (such as Literature) at either H1 or H2 level. Alternatively, students can choose to take up a new subject, Knowledge & Inquiry, in lieu of the General Paper (GP) as a contrasting subject, as Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) is designed to expose students to Epistemology as well as to the construction and nature of knowledge, thus calling for the need to learn across disciplines such as Mathematics, the Sciences and the Humanities. KI is said to be similar to the IB Diploma's Theory of Knowledge paper, albeit being more difficult, as students have to sit for both an examination paper and do a 2500-3000 word Independent Study research paper. Due to its intensive nature, KI is classified as a H2 subject instead of a H1 subject like the General Paper (GP).
The "highest" level subjects, the H3 subjects, are meant to be more pragmatic and promote critical thinking unlike the previous "S" Papers. Under the revised curriculum, H3 subjects are examined either in the form of Research Papers (be it by Cambridge, or by local Universities), Research work (such as the HSSRP and A*Star Research Programmes) or (advanced) University Modules offered by the various local Universities which are approved by the MOE. Consequently, students are able to gain extra credits and skip several modules in the University with the H3 paper done with their other GCE "A" Level subjects. However, in order to do a H3 subject, students must offering the corresponding subject at H2 level. H3 subjects are not offered in Milennia Institute and SRJC.
In general, the subjects offered under the new Singapore-Cambridge GCE "A" Level Examinations are (although not exhaustive):
Science & Mathematics Group:Offered at both H1 & H2 level: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, PhysicsOffered only at H2 Level: Computing
Languages Group:Offered only at H1 Level: Chinese Language, Malay Language, Tamil LanguageOffered at both H1 & H2 Level: French, German, JapaneseNote: Language Subjects taken at H1 do not qualify as contrasting subject(s) for Science students. Only Language Elective Programme (LEP) students are offered to study French, German or Japanese at H2 level.
Humanities and the Arts Group:Offered at H1 level only: General Studies in Chinese (GSC)Offered at both H1 & H2 level: Economics, Geography, History, Literature in English, History in Chinese, China Studies in English, China Studies in ChineseOffered only at H2 Level: Chinese Language & Literature, Malay Language & Literature, Tamil Language & Literature, Theatre Studies & Drama, Art, Music (Higher Art and Higher Music is offered to Art Elective (AEP) and Music Elective Programme (MEP) students respectively)
Business Group (for CI only)Offered at H2 level: Principles of Accounting, Management of BusinessOffered at H1 and H2 level: Economics
Others:H3 Subjects:1.Research Papers: Papers are offered by Cambridge for all core subjects including new "hybrid" subjects such as Proteomics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Essentials of Modern Physics2.Research Programmes: Humanities and Social Sciences Research Programme (HSSRP) by National University of Singapore, NUS Science Research Programme by NUS(NUS SRP), H3 STAR Science Research Programme (only offered to students of NJC), H3 NAV Science Research Programme (only offered to students of VJC).3.University Modules: Modules such as "Geopolitics: Geographies of War and Peace" for Geography and History students and "Managerial Economics" for Economics students are offered and examined by the National University of Singapore. NTU will also be offering several modules in 2007.
Other Compulsory Subjects:Offered only at H1 level: Project Work, General Paper (for those who do not take KI)Offered only at H2 Level: Knowledge & Inquiry
Previously, students take two subjects at "Alternative Ordinary" level ("AO" level), namely their General Paper (GP) and Mother Tongue, and three or four subjects at "A" level. "A" level subjects include Economics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English Literature, History, Geography, Art, Art with Higher Art ("A" level) taken by students in the Art Elective Programme, Theatre Studies and Drama, Computing, Higher Chinese, Chinese ("A" level) Language Elective Programme, Music ("A" level), Music with Higher Music ("A" Level) taken by students in the Music Elective Programme, General Studies in Chinese, French, German, Japanese ("A" level), Malay ("A' level), Tamil ("A" level). Project Work was also made compulsory from 2003.
To gain admittance to local universities, students must pass the General Paper (GP) or Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) and obtain a minimum grade of D7 for the "AO" or "H1" level Mother Tongue Language paper. The grade obtained for the Higher Mother Tongue paper taken at "O" level may be used in lieu of an "AO" or "H1" level Mother Tongue Language grade. From 2008 onwards, the scores of a student's three H2 and one H1 subject will be computed inclusive of Project Work (PW) and either GP or KI for admittance into local universities (namely NUS, NTU, SMU and UniSIM).
Elective Programmes offered in Junior Colleges
Art, Music & Language Elective Programmes. Humanities Programme.
Centralised Institutes
The Centralised Institutes accept students based on their GCE "O" level results and their L1R4 score (which must be 20 points or below). A Centralised Institute provides a three-year course leading up to a GCE "A" level examination. There is only one Centralised Institute in Singapore currently, the Millennia Institute, which was formed following the merger of Jurong and Outram Institutes. Additionally, only Centralised Institutes offer the Commerce Stream offering subjects such as Principles of Accounting and Management of Business. The standard of teaching and curriculum is identical to that of the Junior Colleges.
Diploma and vocational education
Polytechnics
Polytechnics in Singapore provide 3-year diploma courses and, they accept students based on their GCE "O" level, GCE "A" level or Institute of Technical Education (ITE) results.
Polytechnics offer a wide range of courses in various fields, including engineering, business studies, accountancy, tourism and hospitality management, mass communications, digital media and biotechnology. There are also specialised courses such as marine engineering, nautical studies, nursing, and optometry. They provide a more industry-oriented education as an alternative to junior colleges for post-secondary studies. About 40% of each Primary 1 cohort would enrol in Polytechnics.[7]
There are five polytechnics in Singapore, namely:
Nanyang Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic
Singapore Polytechnic
Temasek Polytechnic
Graduates of polytechnics with good grades can continue to pursue further tertiary education at the universities.
Institute of Technical Education
The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) accepts students based on their GCE "O" level or GCE "N" level results and they provide 2-year courses leading to a locally recognised "National ITE Certificate." There are 10 ITE Colleges in Singapore. A number of ITE graduates are doing considerably well in the workforce as they are equipped with essential skills in their various fields of study and are proficient at their jobs. Some ITE graduates continue their education at polytechnics and universities.
ITE provides three main levels of certification:
Master National ITE Certificate (Master Nitec)
Higher National ITE Certificate (Higher Nitec)
National ITE Certificate (Nitec)
There are also other skills certification through part-time apprenticeship course conducted jointly by ITE and industrial companies.
Universities
There are currently four universities in Singapore. The two public universities National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University each has more than 20,000 students and they provide a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes including doctoral degrees. Both are also established research universities with thousands of research staff and graduate students.
The third university Singapore Management University (SMU) opened in 2000. A private university funded by the government, SMU focuses on management and business courses. The fourth university, SIM University (UniSIM), opens in 2006. In addition, there are more than ten other private tertiary institutions offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
See also: List of universities in Singapore
International and private schools
Building of ACS (International), one of the newest international schools.
Due to its large expatriate community Singapore is host to many international schools, one of which, the Singapore American School has one of the largest intakes of international students in the world. Most employers in Singapore pay part or all of their employees children's school fees. International and private schools in Singapore generally do not admit Singapore students without the permission from the Ministry of Education.
However, on 29 April 2004, The Ministry of Education permitted two new international schools to be set up and no permission is required of admitting Singapore students. These school must follow the compulsory policies set by the Ministry such as playing the national anthem every morning, take the pledge and follow the nation's bilingual policies. Both of these schools are private school arms of two renowned schools, they are Anglo-Chinese School (International) and Hwa Chong International. The school fees are around 15 to 20 percent lower than foreign international schools. Their intake is mainly Singaporeans, with nationalities from various countries including Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Netherlands, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.
Education in Singapore is managed by Ministry of Education (MOE), which directs education policy. The ministry controls the development and administration of public schools which receive government funding but also has an advisory and supervisory role to private schools. For both private and public schools, there are variations in the extent of autonomy in their curriculum, scope of government aid and funding, tuition burden on the students, and admission policy.
Children with disabilities attend special special education (SPED) schools run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs), which are and partially funded by the Ministry of Education. Education spending usually makes up about 20 percent of the annual national budget, which subsidises public education and government-assisted private education for Singaporean citizens and furnishes the Edusave programme, but the costs are significantly higher for non-citizens.
In 2000 the Parliament of Singapore passed the Compulsory Education Act, which codified compulsory education for children of elementary school age, and made it a criminal offence if parents fail to enroll their children in school and ensure their regular attendance. Exemptions are allowed for homeschooling or full-time religious institutions, but parents must apply for exemption from the Ministry of Education and meet a minimum benchmark.
In Singapore, the English language is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction by the time they reach primary school. English is the language of instruction for most subjects, especially mathematics and the natural sciences, except where other languages are concerned. Certain schools, such as secondary schools under the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) which encourages a richer use of the mother tongue may teach occasionally in English and another language. There are also other schools which have been experimenting with curricula that integrate language subjects with mathematics and the sciences, using both English and a second language.
Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew related the idea of English as a common language in Singapore that both connected citizens of all ethnic-cultural backgrounds, so no ethnic group is forced to learn the language of another, and tied Singapore to the world economy.
Kindergartens
Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school for children ages three to six. The three years are commonly called Nursery, Kindergarten 1 (K1) and Kindergarten 2 (K2), respectively.
Kindergartens provide an environment for children to learn how to communicate, play, and interact with others, and to prepare them for the start of formal education in primary schools. Activities include learning of language and numbers, development of personal and social skills, games, music, outdoor play. Children learn two languages, English and their mother tongue (Chinese, Malay, or Tamil).
The kindergartens are run by the private sector, including community foundations, religious bodies, and civic or business groups. There are more than 200 kindergartens registered with the Ministry of Education. Kindergartens are also run by child care centres as well as international schools.
Primary education
Primary education is a four-year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is free, though there is a fee of up to SGD 13 monthly per student that goes to the school to help cover miscellaneous costs.
Foundation stage
The foundation stage is the first stage of formal schooling. The four years, from primary 1 to 4, provide a foundation in English, mother tongue (which includes Chinese, Malay, Tamil and another Non-Tamil Indian Language (NTIL)) and Mathematics. Other subjects include civics and ethics ("Civics and Moral Education"), arts and crafts, music, health education, social studies, and physical education, which are taught throughout Primary 1 to 6. Science is taught from Primary 3 onwards.
Orientation stage
All students advance to the orientation stage after Primary 4, where English Language, Mother Tongue and Mathematics are taught at the appropriate level according to the ability of the student. Schools are given the flexibility to develop their own examinations to match students with the levels that suit them.
Primary School Leaving Examination
At the end of Primary 6, the national Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is held. The examination determines whether the student is ready to leave primary school by passing; however the primary purpose of the examination is to eventually allocate places in secondary school to students based on their performance in the examination.Urdu is one of the Non-Tamil Language, which is supported & taught by Urdu Development Society (Singapore) UDSS (more info at http://www.UrduSchoolSingapore.org )
Secondary education
Based on results of the PSLE, students are placed in different secondary education tracks or streams: "Special", "Express", "Normal (Academic)", or "Normal (Technical)"
Both Special and Express are four-year courses leading up to a Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary-level (O-level) exam. The difference between Special and Express is that the former's native languages — English and the mother tongue — are taught at a higher level as Higher Mother Tongue, and are thus more difficult. A foreign language, either French, German, or Japanese can be taken in addition to the mother tongue or can replace it. This is especially popular with students who are struggling with their mother tongues, expatriates students returning from abroad. Non-Chinese students may also study Chinese and non-Malay students Malay as a third language. This programme is known as CSP (Chinese Special Program) and MSP (Malay Special Program). Mother Tongue teachers will conduct these lessons in school after usual hours. Students of Higher Mother Tongue languages are allowed to have two points taken off their O-level scoring, a scoring system discussed below where a lower value is generally considered better. The Ministry of Education Language Centre (MOELC) provides tuition-free language education for most additional languages that other schools may not cover, and provides the bulk of such education, admitting several thousand students each year.
Normal is a four-year course leading up to a Normal-level (N-level) exam, with the possibility of a fifth year followed by an O-level. Normal is split into Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). In Normal (Technical) students take subjects more technical in nature, such as Design and Technology, while in Normal (Academic) students are prepared to take the O-level exam and normally take subjects such as Principles of Accounting. In 2004, the Ministry of Education announced that selected students in the Normal course would have an opportunity to sit for the O-level exam directly without first taking the N-level exam.
With the exception of schools offering the Integrated Programme, which leads to either an International Baccalaureate Diploma or to an A-level exam, most students are streamed into a wide range of course combinations at the end of their second year, making the total number of subject they have to sit for at O-level ranging between six to ten subjects with English, Mother Tongue or Higher Mother Tongue Language, Mathematics, one Science and one Humanities Elective being compulsory. The subject taken varies, and several new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama are being introduced in tandem with the Ministry of Education's revised curriculum. The subjects usually taken at O-Level:
The Ministry of Education Language Centre.
Languages group:
English language
Mother tongue languages (Chinese language, Malay language and Tamil language)
Non-Tamil Indian Languages (Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu languages)
Higher Mother Tongue Languages (Higher Chinese language, Higher Malay language and Higher Tamil language)
Foreign Languages (French, German, Japanese)
Other Third Languages (Chinese language and Malay language)
Humanities group:
Humanities electives (History/geography/literature electives and social studies)
History
Geography
Literature in English
Chinese literature
Malay literature
Higher art (Art Elective Programme)
Higher music (Music Elective Programme)
Mathematics & Science Group:
Mathematics
Additional mathematics
Combined sciences (Physics & Chemistry)
Combined sciences (Chemistry & Biology)
Combined sciences (Biology & Physics)
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Others:
General art
Design and technology
Music
Food and nutrition
Religious studies (Confucian Ethics, Buddhist Studies, Islamic Religious Knowledge, Bible Studies, Sikh Studies etc.)
The list above is not exhaustive, and does not include new subjects such as Computing and Theatre Studies and Drama, or less common subjects, such as Integrated Sciences.
Grade and scoring systems
Most schools commonly follow the kind of grading system awarded at the Singapore-Cambridge GCE "O" level examination, for which a student sits for at the end of four or five years of secondary education, sitting for at least 6 subjects. The level of achievement in each subject is indicated by the grade obtained, with A1 being the highest achievable grade and F9 the lowest:
A1/A2 (Distinction)
B3/B4 (Merit)
C5/C6 (Credit/Pass)
D7 (Sub-Pass, that is, passing at a lower standard examination)
E8/F9 (Fail)
A student's overall academic performance is measured through several points scoring system (such as the L1R5, L1B5 and L1R4 scoring system) depending on which type of post-secondary institution a student is intending to apply for. Each grade has a point value respective to it, for example, with grade A1 being 1 point, A2 being 2 points, and B3 being 3 points. Thus, the fewer the points obtained, the better the score. For example, in the L1R5 scoring system, the student's L1 or first language (either English or Higher Mother Tongue Language) and R5 or relevant 5 subjects (which must include at least one from the Science & Mathematics group, one from the Humanities group, and excluding subjects such as Religious Studies, Mother Tongue "B" and CCA). Consequently, a L1R5 score of 6 points is considered to be the best score attainable for entrance to a Junior College.
For non-major examinations, several schools use a Mean Subject Grade (MSG) scoring system, while schools running the Integrated Programme (IP) may also use the Grade Point Assessment (GPA) scoring system.
Co-Curricular activities
"Co-Curricular Activities" (CCA) are compulsory at the secondary level, where all pupils must participate in at least one core activity, and participation is graded together with other achievement throughout the four years in a scoring system known as LEAPS ("Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation, Service"). Without a CCA, one cannot study at a Junior College after the O-levels, despite the cut-off point. There are many co-curricular activities offered at the secondary level, varying at each school and each student is judged based in these areas. Competitions and performances are regularly organized. Co-curricular activites are often categorized under the following: Uniformed Groups, Performing Arts, Clubs & Societies and Sports & Games. Students can have up to 2 CCAs.
Uniformed Groups
The main uniform groups are NCC (National Cadet Corps), NPCC (National Police Cadet Corps), NCDCC (National Civil Defence Cadet Corps), St John Ambluance Brigade, Red Cross Youth, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, the Boys Brigade and the Girls Brigade. Students are expected to learn drills and wear the respective uniforms, hence the name.
Performing Arts
Performing Arts CCAs can vary, although most will include the Choir, Military/Concert/Symphonic Band, Dance groups for different ethnic culture, Drama and Debate. Most here are oriented on performing and the musical arts.
Clubs & Societies
Clubs and societies are a wide variety, ranging from Youth Flying Club to Robotics and Media.
Sports & Games
Sports are mainly focused on competitive games, like Track and Field (running, jumping, throwing), volleyball, netball, basketball, archery, table tennis, badminton, tennis, gymnastics and more.
Gifted Education Programme
The Gifted Education Programme (GEP) was set up by the Ministry of Education in 1984 amid some public concern to cater to the intellectually gifted students. As of 2005, the schools participating consisted of 9 primary schools — Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Catholic High School (Primary), Henry Park Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Rosyth School, Tao Nan School, St. Hilda's Primary School, and Raffles Girls' Primary School. 7 secondary schools originally started the programme, but with the introduction of the Integrated Programme, most have included the GEP programmes into their IP curriculum. The two remaining secondary GEP schools are Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), an independent all-boys IP School, and Dunman High School, a mixed autonomous government school; the autonomous all-boys Victoria School had to suspend GEP classes due to low enrolment with GEP students preferring IP schools (similarly, Dunman High had their classes cut from two to one in 2004).
Pupils enter the programme through a series of tests at Primary 3, which will identify the top 1 percent of the student population. A second selection is conducted at Primary 6 for those who do well in the PSLE. In the programme, pupils are offered special enrichment programmes to cater to their needs. However, not all students in GEP are successful. Some are not accustomed to the fast pace of study which affected their performance in the core subjects and may choose not to continue the programme at the secondary level.
The Gifted Education Programme will be discontinued as of end-2008 as more students take the Integrated Programme (IP).
Integrated Programme
The Integrated Programme, also known as the "Through-Train Programme" (直通车), is a scheme which allows the cream of secondary schools in Singapore to bypass the "O" levels and take the "A" levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent examination directly at the age of 18 after six years of secondary education.
The programme allows for more time to be allocated to enrichment activities. By bypassing the GCE "O" level examinations, the students are supposedly given more time and flexibility to immerse themselves in a more broad base education which will eventually lead to the GCE "A" levels examination. In addition, the students enjoy more freedom in the combination of subjects between Year 1 - 4 as compared to their non-IP counterparts. Generally, only the top performers (usually from Special, and sometimes Express, stream) are eligible to be part of the IP programme. This will ensure that the main body of the students pursue their secondary education at their own pace by first completing a 4-year O Level before going on to a 2-year "A" level education (as opposed to a 2-year "O" level and 4-year "A" level education).
As a result, schools under this IP programme allow their students to skip the "O" levels at Secondary 4 and go straight into junior colleges (JCs) in Year5/JC1. The Integrated Programme or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme has become an increasingly popular alternative to normal secondary education as it is seen to have moved away from the emphasis on the mere sciences, a side effect from the post-independence need for quick and basic education, to more refined subjects such as philosophy or political science, as well as the fact that scientific concepts are more highly stressed than before, as it is judged on the work of the student, rather than through an examination.
The first batch of IP students will be sitting for the revised GCE "A" Level or International Baccalaureate Diploma examinations in 2007.
Some of the schools which offer the IP / IB programmes in Singapore are:
Dunman High School (IP)+(Bicultural Studies Programme)
National Junior College (IP)
Temasek Junior College (IP)
Hwa Chong Institution (IP)
Anglo Chinese School Independent (IB programme)
Raffles Junior College (IP)
Victoria Junior College (IP)
NUS High School (NUS diploma)
Nanyang Girls' High School(IP)+(Bicultural Studies Programme)
Admission to post-secondary institutions
Admission to a two-year pre-university course at junior colleges after graduating secondary school is determined by the L1R5 (first language + 5 relevant subjects) scoring system. This scoring system is based on the 'O' Level subject grades, which range from A1 (best) to F9 (worst). The candidate adds the numerical grades for six different subjects: English (or another language taken at the 'first language' level), a Humanities subject, a Science/Mathematics subject, a Humanities/Science/Mathematics subject, and two other subjects of any kind. The best L1R5 unmodified score is therefore 6, for a student with A1 grades in six subjects which meet the criteria given.
Students scoring 20 points and below can be admitted for either a Science or Arts Course. In addition, a student must also achieve at least a C6 grade, which is 50% or higher, in the GCE 'O' Level English Language and Mathematics papers in order to qualify for junior college admission. Junior colleges associated with academic excellence, however, usually expect students to attain points in the single digits, in order to be admitted. This is because the system is merit-driven, with places given to those with lower scores first.
For admission to a three-year pre-university course at the Millennia Institute, the L1B5 (first language + 5 best subjects of any kind) scoring system is used and students are expected to score below 20 points being admitted. Students can opt for any of the science, arts or commerce streams when pursuing a three-year pre-university course in Centralised Institutes.
For students seeking admission to diploma courses in polytechnics, the L1R4 (first language + 4 relevant subjects) scoring system is used. However, students will also be required to meet specific pre-requisites outlined by the different polytechnic schools they are applying for. Students applying for courses in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Colleges will also have an independent scoring system dependent on the course they are applying for.
Bonus points can be deducted from a student's raw score, thus lowering it. These bonus points may come from either scoring an 'A' or 'B' grade in CCA, taking Higher Mother Tongue Language and obtaining a minimum of 'D7', or through affiliation (for feeder schools). Bonus points are capped at 4, with exception for those applying to schools offering Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) or Malay Language Elective Programme (MLEP).
Pre-university
The Provisional Admission Exercise is a transitional period of 3 months in junior colleges that allows students to have a 'feel' of JC life.
Main article: List of junior colleges in Singapore
Pre-university centres of Singapore consists of 17 Junior Colleges (JCs) and a sole Centralised Institute (CI), with the National Junior College (NJC) (established 1969) being the oldest and Innova Junior College (IJC) (established 2005) the youngest. Junior colleges and centralised institute are tailored for academically inclined students (approximately top 25% of the cohort) who wish to pursue a University degree after a 2-3 years pre-university education, rather than stopping after polytechnic post-secondary education. Students in most junior colleges and centralised institute pay a subsidised school fees of S$6 and up to S$22 per month for other miscellaneous equipment and special programmes fees. However, certain independent junior colleges, such as Raffles Junior College and Hwa Chong Institution, will require new students to pay a higher school fees at S$300 per month.
Junior Colleges (JCs) accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1R5 score of less than or equals to 20 points must be attained for a student to gain admission. JCs provide a 2-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level ("A" level) examination. Centralised Institutes (CIs) accept students based on their GCE "O" Level results; an L1R4 score of less than or equals to 20 points must be attained for a student to gain admission. Millennia Institute, the only CI in Singapore, provides a 3-year course leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level ("A" level) examination.
Scholarships and bursaries are provided for students whose score was within the 95th percentile from the O-levels, and for students requiring financial assistance. Under these schemes, they are only required to pay an amount equivalent to the school fees of a non-independent junior college. Bursary holders are required to pay a fraction of the full fees, based on their family income. A student whose household salary is S$2000 (75% of an average Singapore household income) is required to pay 75% of the full school fees, while another whose household income is less than S$1000 per month only has to pay 25%.
Singapore-Cambridge GCE "Advanced" Level Curriculum & Examinations
From January 2006, the two-year and three-year pre-university curriculum framework in pre-university centres will be replaced with a new and revised curriculum with the first batch of students sitting for the GCE "A" Level examinations in 2007. In this newly enforced curriculum, the system of categorising subjects according to "Alternative Ordinary (AO)", "Advanced (A)" and "Special (S)" papers or levels has been scrapped and is replaced with the Higher One (H1), Higher 2 (H2) and Higher 3 (H3) categories. H1 subjects are worth 1 Academic Units (AU), H2 subjects 2 AUs, H3 subjects 1 AUs and students are expected to take a minimum of 10 AUs (viz. 3H2+1H1) and a maximum of 12 AUs (viz. 4H2) inclusive of Mother Tongue Language (MTL), Project Work and General Paper or Knowledge & Inquiry. Students who have taken Higher Mother Tongue language paper at the GCE "O" Level and have obtained a minimum grade of 'D7' are exempted from taking formal MTL lessons and examinations, albeit still having to attend MTL-related enrichment and not being allowed to replace the MTL unit with another subject as MTL is still regarded as an integral component of the curriculum.
In tandem with the MOE's aim of achieving more depth rather than mere breadth, the H1 and H2 categories complement each other; in general, a subject taken at H1 is half the breadth of that taken at H2, but is of the same depth and difficulty. For example, students studying Mathematics at H1 will study lesser Pure Mathematics topics (which are largely Physics-related) than those studying Mathematics at H2, but will still face the same depth and difficulty in similar topics (such as Statistics). As such, a H1 paper can theoretically be said to be half of the content of a H2 paper albeit being at equal depth and difficulty (as opposed to how "AO" level subjects were merely easier papers than the "A" level subjects previously). Subsequently, for certain subjects such as History, students taking the subject at H1 level will only sit for Paper 1 (International History from 1945-2000), while students taking the subject at H2 level will sit for the same Paper 1 (International History from 1945-2000) in addition to having to sit for Paper 2 (Southeast Asian History from 1900-1997) as well. Students taking Science subjects such as Physics, Chemistry or Biology at H1 will only sit for the Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) and one written paper, and are not required to take the SPA or Practical examination as those taking the subjects at H2. Consequently, this new grouping system bears some semblance to the International Baccalaureate Diploma A1/A2/SL/HL grouping system.
Syllabus wise, the new curriculum framework gives students more choice of subjects to choose from and enables more permutations of subject combinations. However, unlike in the old curriculum which was criticised for being too specialised and unholistic, students are now required to take up at least one contrasting subject - i.e. Science students have to take up at least one Arts/Humanities subject, while Arts/Humanities students must take up at least one Science-based subject. For example, subjects previously not available to Arts/Humanities students such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology are now made possible at both H1 and H2 levels, while Science students now have more choice of doing an Arts/Humanities subject (such as Literature) at either H1 or H2 level. Alternatively, students can choose to take up a new subject, Knowledge & Inquiry, in lieu of the General Paper (GP) as a contrasting subject, as Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) is designed to expose students to Epistemology as well as to the construction and nature of knowledge, thus calling for the need to learn across disciplines such as Mathematics, the Sciences and the Humanities. KI is said to be similar to the IB Diploma's Theory of Knowledge paper, albeit being more difficult, as students have to sit for both an examination paper and do a 2500-3000 word Independent Study research paper. Due to its intensive nature, KI is classified as a H2 subject instead of a H1 subject like the General Paper (GP).
The "highest" level subjects, the H3 subjects, are meant to be more pragmatic and promote critical thinking unlike the previous "S" Papers. Under the revised curriculum, H3 subjects are examined either in the form of Research Papers (be it by Cambridge, or by local Universities), Research work (such as the HSSRP and A*Star Research Programmes) or (advanced) University Modules offered by the various local Universities which are approved by the MOE. Consequently, students are able to gain extra credits and skip several modules in the University with the H3 paper done with their other GCE "A" Level subjects. However, in order to do a H3 subject, students must offering the corresponding subject at H2 level. H3 subjects are not offered in Milennia Institute and SRJC.
In general, the subjects offered under the new Singapore-Cambridge GCE "A" Level Examinations are (although not exhaustive):
Science & Mathematics Group:Offered at both H1 & H2 level: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, PhysicsOffered only at H2 Level: Computing
Languages Group:Offered only at H1 Level: Chinese Language, Malay Language, Tamil LanguageOffered at both H1 & H2 Level: French, German, JapaneseNote: Language Subjects taken at H1 do not qualify as contrasting subject(s) for Science students. Only Language Elective Programme (LEP) students are offered to study French, German or Japanese at H2 level.
Humanities and the Arts Group:Offered at H1 level only: General Studies in Chinese (GSC)Offered at both H1 & H2 level: Economics, Geography, History, Literature in English, History in Chinese, China Studies in English, China Studies in ChineseOffered only at H2 Level: Chinese Language & Literature, Malay Language & Literature, Tamil Language & Literature, Theatre Studies & Drama, Art, Music (Higher Art and Higher Music is offered to Art Elective (AEP) and Music Elective Programme (MEP) students respectively)
Business Group (for CI only)Offered at H2 level: Principles of Accounting, Management of BusinessOffered at H1 and H2 level: Economics
Others:H3 Subjects:1.Research Papers: Papers are offered by Cambridge for all core subjects including new "hybrid" subjects such as Proteomics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Essentials of Modern Physics2.Research Programmes: Humanities and Social Sciences Research Programme (HSSRP) by National University of Singapore, NUS Science Research Programme by NUS(NUS SRP), H3 STAR Science Research Programme (only offered to students of NJC), H3 NAV Science Research Programme (only offered to students of VJC).3.University Modules: Modules such as "Geopolitics: Geographies of War and Peace" for Geography and History students and "Managerial Economics" for Economics students are offered and examined by the National University of Singapore. NTU will also be offering several modules in 2007.
Other Compulsory Subjects:Offered only at H1 level: Project Work, General Paper (for those who do not take KI)Offered only at H2 Level: Knowledge & Inquiry
Previously, students take two subjects at "Alternative Ordinary" level ("AO" level), namely their General Paper (GP) and Mother Tongue, and three or four subjects at "A" level. "A" level subjects include Economics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English Literature, History, Geography, Art, Art with Higher Art ("A" level) taken by students in the Art Elective Programme, Theatre Studies and Drama, Computing, Higher Chinese, Chinese ("A" level) Language Elective Programme, Music ("A" level), Music with Higher Music ("A" Level) taken by students in the Music Elective Programme, General Studies in Chinese, French, German, Japanese ("A" level), Malay ("A' level), Tamil ("A" level). Project Work was also made compulsory from 2003.
To gain admittance to local universities, students must pass the General Paper (GP) or Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) and obtain a minimum grade of D7 for the "AO" or "H1" level Mother Tongue Language paper. The grade obtained for the Higher Mother Tongue paper taken at "O" level may be used in lieu of an "AO" or "H1" level Mother Tongue Language grade. From 2008 onwards, the scores of a student's three H2 and one H1 subject will be computed inclusive of Project Work (PW) and either GP or KI for admittance into local universities (namely NUS, NTU, SMU and UniSIM).
Elective Programmes offered in Junior Colleges
Art, Music & Language Elective Programmes. Humanities Programme.
Centralised Institutes
The Centralised Institutes accept students based on their GCE "O" level results and their L1R4 score (which must be 20 points or below). A Centralised Institute provides a three-year course leading up to a GCE "A" level examination. There is only one Centralised Institute in Singapore currently, the Millennia Institute, which was formed following the merger of Jurong and Outram Institutes. Additionally, only Centralised Institutes offer the Commerce Stream offering subjects such as Principles of Accounting and Management of Business. The standard of teaching and curriculum is identical to that of the Junior Colleges.
Diploma and vocational education
Polytechnics
Polytechnics in Singapore provide 3-year diploma courses and, they accept students based on their GCE "O" level, GCE "A" level or Institute of Technical Education (ITE) results.
Polytechnics offer a wide range of courses in various fields, including engineering, business studies, accountancy, tourism and hospitality management, mass communications, digital media and biotechnology. There are also specialised courses such as marine engineering, nautical studies, nursing, and optometry. They provide a more industry-oriented education as an alternative to junior colleges for post-secondary studies. About 40% of each Primary 1 cohort would enrol in Polytechnics.[7]
There are five polytechnics in Singapore, namely:
Nanyang Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic
Singapore Polytechnic
Temasek Polytechnic
Graduates of polytechnics with good grades can continue to pursue further tertiary education at the universities.
Institute of Technical Education
The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) accepts students based on their GCE "O" level or GCE "N" level results and they provide 2-year courses leading to a locally recognised "National ITE Certificate." There are 10 ITE Colleges in Singapore. A number of ITE graduates are doing considerably well in the workforce as they are equipped with essential skills in their various fields of study and are proficient at their jobs. Some ITE graduates continue their education at polytechnics and universities.
ITE provides three main levels of certification:
Master National ITE Certificate (Master Nitec)
Higher National ITE Certificate (Higher Nitec)
National ITE Certificate (Nitec)
There are also other skills certification through part-time apprenticeship course conducted jointly by ITE and industrial companies.
Universities
There are currently four universities in Singapore. The two public universities National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University each has more than 20,000 students and they provide a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes including doctoral degrees. Both are also established research universities with thousands of research staff and graduate students.
The third university Singapore Management University (SMU) opened in 2000. A private university funded by the government, SMU focuses on management and business courses. The fourth university, SIM University (UniSIM), opens in 2006. In addition, there are more than ten other private tertiary institutions offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
See also: List of universities in Singapore
International and private schools
Building of ACS (International), one of the newest international schools.
Due to its large expatriate community Singapore is host to many international schools, one of which, the Singapore American School has one of the largest intakes of international students in the world. Most employers in Singapore pay part or all of their employees children's school fees. International and private schools in Singapore generally do not admit Singapore students without the permission from the Ministry of Education.
However, on 29 April 2004, The Ministry of Education permitted two new international schools to be set up and no permission is required of admitting Singapore students. These school must follow the compulsory policies set by the Ministry such as playing the national anthem every morning, take the pledge and follow the nation's bilingual policies. Both of these schools are private school arms of two renowned schools, they are Anglo-Chinese School (International) and Hwa Chong International. The school fees are around 15 to 20 percent lower than foreign international schools. Their intake is mainly Singaporeans, with nationalities from various countries including Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Netherlands, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.
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