Introduction
Today, the whole world recognizes Singapore as one of the fastest developing countries in the world. With their skyrocketing skyscrapers, ample greenery; clean alleys and so much more, the people of this city have known a lavish lifestyle for the past few decades. Looking at the great standards of living the city of Singapore has achieved over the years, one often wonders about what brought this change. What made Singapore, Singapore?
While there might be many reasons to the above question such as masterful governance and planning of the city, or the big companies and business that brought in a lot of economic resources; one other reason which a lot of people overlook was an improvement in the education system.
Singapore Education System
Singapore’s education system over the years has seen a lot of reforms, a lot of changes that were targeted at improving the overall quality of education in the country. To produce better results and to educate larger parts of their population, Singapore opened new schools with advanced campuses, trained teachers to be proficient at their craft, and allowed international schools to spread their roots in the country.
The involvement of international schools and the construction of new schools transformed Singapore’s education system into what it is today. Today Singapore has one of the finest education systems that produce optimum results, focusing on creating the next best engineers, doctors, businessmen, etc in the country.
However, with the development in the education system, it has become difficult for parents to select schools for their little ones. From kindergarten to High school, Singapore has enough options to confuse the parents about which one to select. Should the parents focus on selecting a school that is in the vicinity or the ones that have a larger campus but are a little further away? Should they go for the best IB school in Singapore or should they stick to the local curriculum?
What Is the IB Board?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation. It was formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. IB was founded in 1968. Every school that is authorized to offer an IB program is recognized as an IB World School.
IB offers four educational programs for students aged 3 to 19:
- The IB Diploma Program
- The IB Career-related Program
- The IB Middle Years Program
- The IB Primary Years Program
The four programs together provide a critically engaging, personally uplifting, intellectually stimulating, and inspiring continuum of education. The International Baccalaureate is a legal entity, a foundation under the Swiss Law which is constituted for a specially stated objective. It is a non-profit organization, selling its services and products to schools in a system parallel to the franchise network, wherein the schools buy services and products from the IB like- publications, right to use branding, assessments, etc., and in turn, schools act as distributors by reselling the services and products to families. The financial surplus of IB has increased nine-fold in just eight years.
In the long list of schools parents have at their disposal, the finest result-producing schools are the ones that follow unconventional methods in their classrooms to promote modern education. Modern education is the type of education that focuses on holistic all-around development rather than just gaining whatever is given in the textbooks. The best schools in Singapore might offer different curriculums in their classrooms, however, they all focus on providing modern education.
What is modern education and how is it different from conventional education?
Modern education understands that learning from textbooks is a necessary process for human growth since textbooks impart incomparable knowledge. However, we today realize that it is not enough.
Hence, Modern education is something that is beyond the conventional chalk and talk method. Modern education, as mentioned above, is about imparting holistic development to the students. With modern teaching methods, ample and efficient use of modern-day technology, an astute focus on labs, experiments, and practical learning, the teachers in these schools try to achieve this holistic development.
What are the curriculums offered by international schools?
Some international schools change their list of offered curriculums by the countries in which they are established. However, IB (International Board) curriculum is a curriculum that is offered by almost all the international schools on almost all their campuses. IB schools are focused on providing an education that remains relatable on the global scale. Their subjects are designed in such a manner to cover every bit of important information that needs to be conveyed to students who want to work in multinational firms.
Why are IB Schools in Singapore the best schools?
One important aspect that makes a school in the country the best school in Singapore is the curriculum that is shared in the classrooms. A curriculum is what defines the subjects, topics, etc., that a student will learn in his/her school life. Certain schools in Singapore offer their students an option to select the curriculum they want. However, for this, the school needs to have ample resources in terms of teachers, classrooms, etc to be able to support entirely different subjects. Hence, not all schools can support a multi-curriculum system.
Let’s see how IB schools in Singapore are the best schools.
- Research-based teachings- The IB schools follow a curriculum that is research-based in order to create an impact on students. It helps the students to get admission in a good college for higher education and better job opportunities.
- Application-based education– The IB curriculum is application-based that helps the students to gain knowledge and apply that in real-life situations. So students need not waste time mugging up things. Rather they can invest time in useful activity-based learning.
- Pedagogy that brings the best– The IB curriculum is such that it follows a pedagogy that brings the best out of the child. The schools with this curriculum focus on ‘ how to learn rather than ‘ what to learn. thus making the process of learning more independent and students can take initiatives to learn specific skills as per their interest.
- Critical thinking– The Ib curriculum enhances critical thinking that proves to be beneficial for your child’s future. Because nowadays soft skills are as important as academic learning.
- Better adaptation– As humans, we come across various challenges in life and we all need to adapt to those changes. As IB schools have a multicultural approach, the students learn to adapt to different situations and perform their best even in stressful events.
- Other soft skill development- The IB schools put special emphasis on communications skills, leadership skills, team spirit, etc. These skills play a major role in getting good colleges and good jobs. Because employers look for these soft skills so that the employees can perform better. The importance of communication skills cannot be emphasized enough. It does change the game of life if you have it right.
The best IB schools in Singapore have managed to produce students that stand out as educated independent individuals when they leave their school. As discussed above, schools need to bring out such development that isn’t focused on textbook knowledge and can also be seen through confidence and skill-set.
Conclusion
Hence, Parents in Singapore have an arsenal of schools to choose from. Looking at their options, it is understandable if they sometimes feel overwhelmed, however, if they look closer, it is not an impossible task to sort out the best institution for their loved ones.
Parents should look out for schools that have a well-defined educational framework that focuses on holistic development rather than just the conventional methods of teaching. The best schools in Singapore have this goal in their mind and hence produce the most capable individuals in the country. These are the individuals that in the future are credited for the rapid growth in the country and are the leaders of a brighter tomorrow.