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BEST PRACTICES FROM SINGAPORE'S HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL SYSTEM Empowered Educators in Singapore is one volume in a series that explores how high-performing educational systems from around the world achieve strong results. The anchor book,
Empowered Educators: How High-Performing Systems Shape Teaching Quality Around the World, is written by Linda Darling-Hammond and colleagues, with contributions from the authors of this volume.
Empowered Educators in Singapore delves into the country's rapid rise to educational excellence on a global scale and the national effort that drives it. Singaporean students routinely outperform their peers from around the world, placing first or second in international assessments, particularly in math and science. In 2015, Singaporean students topped the league table for both the Programme in International Student Achievement (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). With educators around the world clamoring for the "Singapore secret," the reality is that Singapore's excellence is the result of a 25-year drive to improve education through systemic, long-term and ongoing, consistent, and deliberative reform with an emphasis on teacher quality. This book describes the interwoven strategies that merge context, quality, governance, and continual evolution into a consistently high-achieving student population.
List of contents
Foreword v
Acknowledgments ix
About the Sponsoring Organizations xi
About the Authors xiii
Online Videos and Documents xv
Singapore: From "Who?" to "Who's Who!" 1
Singapore in Brief: Background and Essential Information 3
The Singapore School System: Many Pathways, One Goal 4
Educational Governance and Policy Initiatives 11
Theme 1: A Clear Vision and Belief in the Centrality of Education for Every Individual, the Economy, and Nation Building 16
Theme 2: A Systemic Approach to Innovation, Reform, and Change 25
Theme 3: Investing in a High-Quality Teaching Force 30
Recruiting Quality 30
Perceptions of Teaching as a Career 36
Teacher Distribution across Schools 40
Preparing Quality 41
Practicum and Field Experience 52
Theme 4: Developmental and Educative Appraisal for Ongoing Learning 56
Nurturing and Retaining Quality: Beginning Teacher Induction 56
Professional Learning and Recognition 64
Professional Learning beyond Induction 72
Professional Development along Differentiated Career Tracks 94
Theme 5: Learning System and Learning Profession 102
Review and Enhancement of Initial Teacher Preparation Programs: Maintaining Quality 102
Discussion 106
A Clear Vision and Belief in the Centrality of Education 106
A Systemic Approach to Innovation, Reform, and Change 106
Building and Sustaining a High-Quality Teaching Workforce 107
Appraisal That Is Educative and Developmental 108
A Learning System and a Learning Profession 108
Conclusion: Future Challenges and Directions 109
Notes 111
Appendix 113
References 115
About the author
A. LIN GOODWIN is the Evenden Professor of Education, and vice dean at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Her research focuses on teacher and teacher educator development, teachers' multicultural understandings, and international comparative analyses of education practice and policy.
EE-LING LOW is professor of Applied Linguistics and Teacher Learning and head of Strategic Planning & Academic Quality at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND is president of the Learning Policy Institute and the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University, where she founded the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
Summary
BEST PRACTICES FROM SINGAPORE'S HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL SYSTEM Empowered Educators in Singapore is one volume in a series that explores how high-performing educational systems from around the world achieve strong results.
