Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Singapore Curriculum
Singapore Curriculum
Singapore Curriculum
Mr Winston Hodge
Director, Training and Development Division,
Ministry of Education
Singapore
1. INTRODUCTION
The vision of the Ministry of Education (MOE) is “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation”.
To prepare a generation of thinking and committed citizens who are capable of
contributing towards Singapore’s continued growth and prosperity, the Ministry is
constantly revisiting its curriculum to ensure that the skills and knowledge taught in
schools meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The Singapore education system aims to provide students with a holistic and broad-
based education. Given the multi-cultural and multi-racial characteristics of Singapore,
the bilingual policy is a key feature of the Singapore education system. Under the
bilingual policy, every student learns English which is the common working language.
Students also learn their mother tongue language (Chinese, Malay or Tamil), to help
them retain their ethnic identity, culture, heritage and values.
It is envisioned that students at the end of primary education, secondary education and
pre-university would have acquired these eight core skills and values. (Annex A).
Singapore’s national curriculum aims to nurture each child to his full potential, to
discover his talents and to develop in him a passion for life-long learning. Students go
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through a broad range of experiences to develop the skills and values that they will
need for life. The broad-based curriculum imparts literacy, numeracy, bilingualism, the
sciences, humanities, aesthetics, physical education, civics and moral education and
National Education.
Over the years, the curriculum has been reviewed to address the need for a common
set of values, knowledge and competencies and at the same time, allow differentiation
to meet the needs of students with different talents and abilities. To enable students to
achieve the learning outcomes of each specific subject and the DOE, three broad
areas are considered, namely, the curriculum, teaching strategies and assessment
(Figure 1)
Teaching Strategies
Classroom management, pedagogy,
teaching & learning resources
Content
Aims & objectives, Assessment
content, skills & Students ’ Formative and summative
competencies, values & Learning
attitudes Experiences
The content states the aims and objectives, the content, the skills and competencies
required for the syllabi and the values and attitudes that the syllabi hope to impart to
the students. Appropriate teaching strategies are designed for successful classroom
delivery of the syllabi, using effective teaching and learning materials. To evaluate if
students have learned what has been taught, students are tested through formative
and summative assessments.
Every child in Singapore has the opportunity to undergo at least ten years of basic
education. This comprises 6 years of compulsory primary education and 4 years of
secondary education. Students have to sit for major national examinations at the end
of their primary and secondary education. Beyond secondary education, students
move on to post-secondary institutions based on their eligibility and choice (Annex B).
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3.1 Primary School Curriculum (Annex C)
At the primary level, students go through a six-year course aimed at giving them a
good grasp of the English Language, Mother Tongue Language and Mathematics. In
addition, students learn Science, Social Studies, Civics & Moral Education, Music, Art
& Crafts, Health Education and Physical Education. At the end of Primary 6, students
take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), which assesses their suitability
for secondary education and places them in the appropriate secondary school course
that will match their learning pace, ability and inclinations.
The secondary school curriculum is differentiated according to the abilities and interest
of the students. Students undergo one of four courses designed to match their learning
abilities and interests. The details of the four courses are in Annex E.
4. LOOKING AHEAD
In order to better prepare students to meet changing national and global needs of the
21st century , MOE has embarked on a process to review its curriculum, pedagogies
and assessments.
4.1 Curriculum
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The national curriculum structures will be loosened through curriculum decentralisation
to allow schools to customise their curriculum to meet their students’ needs. Certain
subjects can be redesigned as a set of learning outcomes to allow schools room to
innovate without having to complete a syllabus. This allows schools greater autonomy
and flexibility over curriculum time allocation. More time will be free up from curriculum
for students to develop skills and attitudes. MOE will allow flexibility of integration of
subjects to develop new understanding.
4.2 Pedagogy
MOE will provide support for schools to use a wider variety of pedagogies through
pedagogy packages to support syllabus delivery. Teachers will also be encouraged to
share pedagogical expertise through participation in learning communities. At various
MOE and external platforms, schools’ efforts and successes in the use of engaging
and effective pedagogy will be showcased.
4.3 Assessment
The national assessment will be retained to maintain standards and for benchmarking
purposes. Assessment modes, formats and items will be reviewed regularly. Greater
focus will be placed on the role of assessment in learning through formative
assessment. Teachers’ assessment literacy and expertise in the use of assessment
strategies will be built up through the provision of guides and exemplars in curriculum
documents and teaching packages. Assessment items will be situated in authentic
contexts and the greater use of alternative assessment modes to better prepare
students to handle complexities and ambiguous problems that they are likely to face in
the future.
Just as the curriculum evolves to include new learnings that students need for the
future, professional development of teachers becomes critical, as teachers have to
strive to equip themselves with the necessary competencies to guide and facilitate
students’ learning. To meet the needs of distinct groups of students according to their
ability and learning styles, teachers will be equipped with skills of differentiated
instruction. Teachers will also continue to develop their capacity to leverage
technology to enhance students’ learning experiences. Teachers will also develop their
abilities to become reflective practitioners, able to enhance their teaching through
research and using research findings to improve classroom practices.
5. CONCLUSION
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It is important that MOE ensures balance, rigor, relevance and responsiveness of the
curriculum to meet the needs of the 21st century. Teachers should focus on teaching
for enduring understanding and skills. Assessment will have to be contextualized and
made more authentic to equip students with skills and attitudes to face new problems
and issues that will come their way.
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Annex A
Desired Outcomes of Education (DOE)
A–1
Annex B
University
University(3
(3--44years)
years)
JC Poly
Poly(3
(3
JC(2
(2years)
years) years)
ITE
ITE(2
(2years)
years)
years)
Secondary
SecondarySchool
School(4
(4--55years)
years)
Primary
PrimarySchool
School(6
(6years)
years)
B–1
Annex C
1. English, Mother Tongue and Mathematics will be taught at the appropriate level
according to the ability of the student.
2. Science is taught from P3 onwards.
3. For P1-4, Health Education is not a separate subject but relevant topics are
included in the learning of English.
4. Project Work is conducted during curriculum time but is not an exam subject.
C–1
Annex D
The Secondary School Curriculum
LANGUAGES LEGEND
English
Mother Tongue, Higher Mother Tongue, CCA Co-Curricular
Mother Tongue Language ‘B’ Activities
3rd Language (Optional – French, German, CIP
Japanese, Chinese, Malay) Community
Involvement
Programme
KNOWLEDGE CME Civics & Moral
SKILLS
Education
HUMANITIES MATHEMATICS
Lower Sec PCCG Pastoral Care &
& THESec
Lower ARTS LIFE & SCIENCE
subjects: Career Guidance
subjects: SKILLS Mathematics, NE National Education
Geography, Science, Design
History, CCA, CIP, CME, PE Physical Education
& Technology,
Literature in PCCG, NE, PE, Home PW Project Work
English, Visual
Upper Sec Upper Sec
Economics
Arts, Music
subjects: subjects:
Combined 1
Mathematics, a
Upper Sec electives: PW
Humanities Science subject
Upper Sec Students in the Special and
Geography, History, electives: Express courses typically offer
Literature in English, Additional 7-8 subjects at the GCE ‘O’
Malay
Literature in Chinese, Level Examinations.
Biology, Chemistry,
Mathematics,
Literature,
Literature, Art & Combined
Physics, Science
Tamil
Design, Design
options,and
Music, Higher Principle
Technology,
Food & Nutrition,
Art,Higher Music s of
Account
s
D–1
Annex E
2. Normal (Academic) Course is a four-year course leading to the GCE ‘N’ Level
Examination. Students who do well at the ‘N’ levels will qualify for an additional
year to prepare for the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination. Selected students may offer
up to two3 ‘O’ level subjects at Secondary 4, or, bypass the ‘N’ levels and
progress directly to Secondary 5 to take the ‘O’ levels. Students learn the same
range of subjects similar to those in the Special and Express courses.
3. Normal (Technical) Course is a four-year course leading to the GCE ‘N’ Level
Examination. In this course, students learn English, Mother Tongue, Mathematics
and subjects with technical or practical emphases. Since 2005, schools have also
been offering Elective Modules, which cover a wide range of subjects including
nursing, hospitality, digital animation and precision engineering. To enhance
experiential and practice-oriented learning, a revised Normal (Technical)
curriculum that focuses more on practice-oriented learning has been
implemented in all schools from 2007. The teaching approaches focus on group
work, oral presentation, creativity and hands-on activities.
4. The Integrated Programme (IP) is designed for students who are clearly
university-bound, and could do well in a less structured environment, also have
the choice of the Integrated Programme (IP), which spans secondary and junior
college education without intermediate national examinations at the end of
secondary school. Time previously used to prepare students for the GCE ‘O’
Level Examination are used to engage them in broader learning experiences.
Selected schools also offer alternative curricula and qualifications, such as the
International Baccalaureate.
1
Starting from the Secondary 1 students in 2008, the Special and Express Courses will be merged
into the “Express Course”.
2
Students can opt to study Mother Tongue (Malay/Chinese/Tamil) at either the standard, higher or
Syllabus B levels depending on their ability and eligibility.
3
Starting with the 2009 Secondary 4N(A) cohort, this cap will be lifted.
E–1