Empowered Educators in Singapore How High-Performing Systems Shape Teaching Quality

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.

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.

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

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