Teachers And Education Professionals In Singapore And Finland
Sclafani, S. (2008). Two roads to high performance. Educational Leadership, 66 (2): 26-30.
In her article, Susan Sclafani (2008) elaborates on the issues and concepts teachers and education professionals in Singapore and Finland use to achieve organizational and educational success. The author of the article uses the examples of the two most successful educational systems in the world. Finland and Singapore stand out as the two brightest examples of the way education systems and facilities must work to ensure high quality of knowledge delivery from teachers to students. Sclafani (2008) tries to understand, whether the principles the two education systems use in practice can work in the U.S. educational environments, and what should be done to apply these principles in practice.
According to Sclafani (2008), Singaporean and Finnish systems of education are similar in a sense that they comprise equal number of students, between 560,000 and 580,000. At the same time, the two systems are dramatically different in that in Finland, education is highly decentralized and scattered across 450 municipalities, whereas in Singapore, a highly centralized system of education comprises 350 schools in one city-state (Sclafani, 2008). Nevertheless, Sclafani (2008) shows that these and other differences do not prevent these schools and educational facilities from achieving the basic standards of professional and educational excellence: Finland and Singapore are fairly regarded as the two top performers on the two major international assessments, and to understand what makes them excellent, a detailed insight into their practices and policies is required. This insight will also lay the foundation for a better understanding of how these principles and policies can work in different learning environments and systems, including the U.S.
Sclafani (2008) suggests that in Singapore, students attend school between 6 and 17 years old, and they may also access preschool education offered by a variety of licensed providers. The author writes that the system of primary and secondary education in Singapore begins with the development of student skills in the major disciplines, including mathematics, literacy, English and home languages (Sclafani, 2008). By focusing on these disciplines, education professionals in Singapore want to ensure that students will be able to develop skills necessary to succeed in other school assignments. According to Sclafani (2008), starting with the third grade, Singaporean students engage in a range of subjects, which offer opportunities for creativity, problem-solving, cocurricular activities, and community service. The quality and results of student performance in secondary education predetermine students’ chances to continue professional education in specialized courses.
Processing your request, Please wait....
