It has the world’s best schools, but Singapore wants better
The government wants pupils not just to ace exams, but also to be creative
Aug 30th 2018 | SINGAPORE
THE library at Woodgrove Primary School has been turned into a “MakerSpace”. After regular lessons end at around 2pm, pupils sign up for sessions like 3D design, stop-motion film-making and coding for robots. Instructors leave the children to it once they have explained how things work. The overall message is that it’s OK to fail, says a teacher. On a Thursday afternoon just after the summer break, one young boy stops to explain that these sessions make a nice change: if he wasn’t here, he would only be studying at home.
伍德格罗夫小学的图书馆已经变成了一个“制造空间”。下午2点左右，常规课程结束后，学生们报名参加3D设计、定格电影制作和机器人编程等课程。老师给孩子们讲明工作原理后，就会让孩子们自己动手去做。一位老师说，给孩子的信息总的来说就是失败了没关系。在暑假结束后的一个周四下午，一个小男孩停下来说道，这些课程有一个不错的改变:如果他不在这里，他就只能在家学习了。
Singapore’s schools have long held a reputation for didactic teaching, rote learning and academic brilliance. Their pupils lead the rankings in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial test of 15-year-olds around the world, and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which measures ten- and 14-year-olds.
长期以来，新加坡的学校一直以说教教学、死记硬背和唯成绩至上而闻名。他们的学生在经合组织(OECD)的国际学生评估项目(PISA)中名列前茅，国际学生评估项目是对全球15岁学生进行的三年一次的测试，并且在对10-14岁孩子测试的国际数学和科学研究的趋势中也遥遥领先。
But decades of economic growth have changed priorities. Andreas Schleicher of the OECD reckons Singaporean education is going through “a silent revolution almost entirely unnoticed in the West”. Politicians now hope to marry good exam results with the promotion of skills that will help pupils work in the city’s growing service sector, and even to lead contented lives. “It’s not just about teaching how to be smart, but how to be a better human being,” enthuses Heng Swee Keat, the country’s finance minister, who was in charge of education in 2011-15.
但几十年的经济增长改变了事情的优先排序。经济合作与发展组织的Andreas Schleicher认为新加坡的教育正在经历一场“无声的革命，在西方几乎没有人注意到”。现在，政客们希望将考试成绩与技能提升结合起来，从而帮助学生在城市不断增长的服务业工作，甚至过上满意的生活。“这不仅关乎如何变得聪明，还关乎如何成为一个更好的人，”曾在2011年至2015年负责教育事务的新加坡财政部长亨斯威基特兴奋地说。
Unlike most revolutions, this one is a gradual, long-term project. The most noticeable changes so far have been to reduce pressure on children taking exams. In 2012 the government abolished league tables for secondary schools, which it felt skewed teachers’ priorities. It also stopped publishing the names of top scorers and widened the criteria used for entry to the best secondary schools. From 2021 primary-school leavers will no longer receive a precise score, instead getting a broad grade.
与大多数革命不同，这次革命是一个渐进的、长期的工程。到目前为止最显著的变化是减轻了孩子们考试的压力。2012年，政府取消了中学排行榜，认为这扭曲了教师的工作重点。它还停止公布优等生的名单，并扩大了进入最好中学的标准。从2021年开始，小学毕业生将不再实行具体分数，而是给一个分数范围。
More significant changes lurk beneath the surface. The education ministry has published a fuzzy-sounding list of “21st Century Competencies” (including “self-awareness” and “responsible decision-making”) that it wants every pupil to acquire. Wong Siew Hoong, director-general of the ministry of education, says they inform almost everything his department does. Exam questions, for instance, have been reframed to be more open-ended, to encourage critical thinking as well as knowledge of a subject. Teacher appraisals measure not just academic performance but also the social development of pupils.
表面之下，潜伏着更重要的变化。教育部发布了一份听起来很模糊的“21世纪技能”清单(包括“自我意识”和“负责任的决策”)，希望每个学生都能获得这些能力。教育部部长黄肖虹表示，这份清单几乎囊括了他所在部门的所有工作，例如，考试题目已经被重新定义为要更加开放，以鼓励批判性思维和学科知识。教师评价不仅要衡量学生的学习成绩，而且衡量学生的社会发展。
Teaching methods are changing, too. All teachers get 100 hours of training a year. They learn new pedagogical techniques, which encourage group work and discussion between teacher and pupils. As Yan Song, a pupil at Deyi Secondary School who moved from China mid-way through his education, puts it, in Singapore they focus “on how you behave as a human being.” In China, in contrast, “you just study from day to night.”
教学方法也在改变。所有教师每年接受100小时的培训。他们学习新的教学技巧，鼓励老师和学生之间的小组合作和讨论。正如半途从中国转学过来的德宜中学的学生阎松所说，在新加坡，他们关注的是“作为一个人的行为方式”。相比之下，在中国，“你只是从早到晚学习。”
The final change has been to align the classroom with the workplace. By 2023 almost all schools will have “applied learning” programmes in subjects like computing, robotics and electronics, but also drama and sports. The emphasis in all of them is on practising in “real-world” environments; there are no exams. At Deyi Secondary School, broadcast journalism is used as a way to improve communication skills, for instance. The ministry of education has also hired 100 career-guidance officials. Many previously worked in industry. They keep tabs on labour shortages and work with schools to inform children about their options, often trying to push them beyond “iron rice bowl” careers like banking, the civil service and medicine.
最后的改变是让教室与工作保持一致。到2023年，几乎所有的学校都将在计算机、机器人和电子等学科上开设“应用学习”课程，还有戏剧和体育。它们都强调在“现实世界”环境中实践;没有考试。例如，在德宜中学，广播新闻被用来提高交流技巧。教育部还聘请了100名职业指导官员。许多人以前在工厂工作。他们密切关注劳动力短缺问题，并与学校合作，让孩子们了解他们的选择，往往试图让他们摆脱银行、公务员和医药等“铁饭碗”职业。
Persuading parents that there is more to life than exam results and a job in a high-status industry is hard. The ministry of education works with parent-support groups and online influencers, organises seminars and is active on social media to get the message out. Tay Geok Lian, a career-guidance official, says some parents, particularly richer ones, are indeed beginning to look beyond the usual professions.
要说服家长相信生活中除了考试成绩和找一份好工作外，还有其他的东西是很困难的。教育部与家长支持团体和网络大V合作，组织研讨会，并在社交媒体上积极传播这类信息。职业指导官员戴格丽安表示，一些家长，尤其是较富裕的家长，确实开始将目光投向一般职业之外。
But some habits are hard to change. Many children receive after-school tutoring. Jacqueline Chua, who runs Paideia Learning Academy, a tutoring centre in a leafy part of town, says parents are no less keen on her services. “The system drives behaviour,” she explains. “Kids are stressed because their parents are stressed… And that’s because they understand what’s before them.” The primary-school leaving exam, taken at 11 or 12, is a critical pressure point. Pupils who excel end up in the best, most selective schools, and can expect a future of foreign study and top government jobs. Those who do badly go into vocational streams. The government has no plans to end selection.
但是有些习惯很难改变。许多孩子接受课后辅导。蔡美儿经营着Paideia学习学院，这是一家位于城市繁华地区的辅导中心，她说家长对她的辅导服务的热情并未消减。“体系驱动行为，”她解释道。“孩子们感到压力是因为他们的父母感到压力……那是因为他们明白摆在他们面前的是什么。”小学毕业考试在11或12岁时举行，这是压力的关键来源。成绩优异的学生最终会进入最好的、最难进的学校，并有望在国外学习和担任政府要职。那些表现不好的人进入职业培训，政府没有计划结束这样的挑选。
The direction of travel is nonetheless clear. Officials say they see no reason why results should slip in the quest to foster more well-rounded pupils. Educationalists from around the world have long sought to replicate Singapore’s success. Many are in awe of the quality of teacher training, the tightly-focused lessons and the government’s long-term planning. With such strong fundamentals, the Singaporean system is in a good position to reform. As Mr Heng, the finance minister, notes, “If you want to connect the dots, you have to have the dots in the first place.”
尽管如此，前进的方向是明确的。有关官员说，他们认为在培养更全面的学生的同时，没有理由让成绩下滑。长期以来，世界各地的教育学家都试图复制新加坡的成功。许多人对教师培训的质量、集中授课的课程以及政府的长期规划表示赞同。有了这样强劲的基础，新加坡体制改革处于有利地位。正如新加坡财政部长衡先生所指出的那样:“如果你想把这些点串连起来，你就必须把这些点放在首位。”
英文部分选自《经济学人》杂志
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