Jhea Velasco

2nd Year BEED

I choose SINGAPORE because they are the first to institutionalized PLC (professional learning
community), is a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to
improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. Which is the benefits are PLCs allow
educators opportunities to directly improve teaching and learning. PLCs build stronger relationships
between team members.PLCs help teachers stay on top of new research and emerging technology tools
for the classroom. PLCs help teachers reflect on ideas. And Singapore focus on school as learning
organization which means as the capacity to change and adapt routinely to new environments and
circumstances as its members, individually and together, learn their way to realizing their vision. And
teachers is entitled to 100 hrs/yr of optional training which  is to enable teachers to acquire new
understanding and instructional skills. It focuses on creating learning environments which
enable teachers to develop their effectiveness in the classroom. And in CPD in Singapore, schools are
encourage to provide at least 1hr/week to engage in professional development initiatives. For
Professional Development Singapore has: teacher- researcher network which learning communities
serves as a mentor to conduct action research, These networks provide the data communications
connectivity needed to allow researchers and academics to collaborate together in their work – breaking
down the barriers of distance. And there overall goal is to provide teacher with resources to engage in
action research and this step: 1. Identification and definition of a problem. 2. Planning for improvement.
3. Implementation of teaching/ learning activities. 4. Observation of result (data collextion) 5. Reflect of
outcomes. The lesson study is overall goal is to foster collaboratives inquiry and data driven pedalogical
reflection.

Its schools are high on the list of the world’s best-performing school systems. Educators from around the
world now visit this city-state to see how Singapore has achieved its world-beating levels of
performance in math, science, and literacy. The answer, according to Singapore educators, is simple: a
coherent curriculum delivered to every school by high-quality teachers.  

Recognizing that it had few other resources, Singapore’s policymakers decided early on to invest in their
human resources and to dream, design and deliver a solid education to every child. Good teachers and
effective school leaders form the cornerstone of that system. A high-quality teacher workforce doesn’t
simply happen by chance or as a result of a cultural respect for teaching; it is a result of deliberate policy
choices. Singapore has developed a comprehensive system for selecting, training, compensating and
developing teachers and principals.

Key Element:
Recruitment : he Ministry of Education carefully selects prospective teachers from the top one third of
the secondary school graduating class. Strong academics are essential,  but so are commitment to the
profession and to serving diverse student bodies. Teachers receive a stipend equivalent to 60% of a
teacher salary while in training and commit to teaching for at least three years.  Interest in teaching is
seeded early through teaching internships and a system for mid-career entry also exists.

Training: All teachers receive training on the Singapore curriculum at the country’s National Institute of
Education at Nanyang Technological University, either in a diploma or a degree course depending on
their level of education at entry. There is a close working relationship between the Institute and schools,
where master teachers mentor every new teacher for several years

Compensation

Each year, the Ministry of Education examines a range of occupational starting salaries and may adjust
the salaries for beginning teachers to ensure that teaching is seen as equally attractive with other
occupations for new graduates. Teacher salaries do not increase over time as much as some other
professions but there are many opportunities for teachers to assume other roles, as described below

Professional Development

Teachers are entitled to 100 hours of professional development per year. This may be undertaken in
several ways. Courses at the National Institute of Education focus on subject matter and pedagogical
knowledge and lead towards higher degrees. Much of the professional development is school-based, led
by school staff developers, whose job it is to know where there are problems in the school, for example
with a group’s math performance, or to introduce new practices such as project-based learning or new
uses of ICT. Each school also has a fund through which it can support teacher growth, including the
development of fresh perspectives by going abroad to examine aspects of education in other countries.
A Singapore Teachers’ Centre is set to open later in 2010 to further encourage teachers to continuously
share best practices. 

Career Development

Talent is identified and nurtured rather than being left to chance. After three years of teaching, teachers
are assessed annually to see whether they have the potential for three different career paths  - master
teacher, specialist in curriculum or research, or school leader, each with salary increments. Teachers
with  potential to be school leaders are moved to middle management teams and receive training to
prepare them for their new roles. Middle managers’ performance is assessed for their potential to
become assistant principals, and later, principals. Each stage has a range of experiences and training to
prepare candidates for school leadership and transformation. There is a clear understanding that high-
quality teaching and strong student performance require effective school leaders.  

By putting its energy into the front end of recruiting high-quality people and giving them good training
and continuing support, Singapore doesn’t have the problems of massive attrition and persistently
ineffective teachers and principals that plague many systems.

Singapore is small and has a more centralized education system, which makes implementing policies
easier and there is good communication and shared vision between the Ministry, the National Institute
of Education and the schools. But it has accomplished so much with so little in terms of continuous
improvement and consistent high performance across schools and the principles they have put in place
to develop a high-quality human capacity are applicable elsewhere. Just as Singapore developed its
system by examining the best practices of others countries, others can now learn from Singapore.