PGCE PROCESS WORK MODULE 1- UNIT 2 Task 2 B- SUCCESS STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

PGCE PROCESS WORK UNIT 2 Task 2 

ch 2 SUCCESS STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD 

  image source:http://images.clipartpanda.com/world-clip-art-people-holding-hands-around-the-world-hi.png

Write notes about any ways in which you feel the 'success factors' in these case studies might be of benefit to the educational system in which you currently work.

I will look at the “success factors” in the educational systems of Singapore and Finland. I will briefly summarise the main approaches to the way these two countries have both gone from nations that had a largely uneducated population and poor economic growth to countries who have created a model for ‘success’ in terms of education and economic growth. Both countries have done this in a relatively short timespan.

THE SINGAPORE  EDUCATIONAL METHOD 

image source:https://jpublicpolicy.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/singapore-education-news-2.jpg

The Singapore method, according to Stewart (2012), had three main stages of educational development. She refers to these as: “Survival”, “Efficiency” and “Global Knowledge”. Below I will briefly simplify and summarise these three phases.

1.Survival 1959-1978 - get people educated - create schools

2. Efficiency 1978-1996 - make vocational education important and create different routes to higher education i.e. Vocational route and academic route of equal importance. Create links with industry, internships and therefore smoother route to jobs

3. Global Knowledge 1990’s- Present

Create links with other countries by providing generous funding to attract researchers from other countries- big investment in creativity, innovation and research. Also make changes in the school system to develop a: “national culture where learning and creativity flourish at every level of society” (Ng, 2008b, p. 6 cited in Stewart 2012, p. 39).

Singapore’s vision for its education system is summarised in the word below,. It aims to:

“touch the hearts and engage the minds of learners by promoting a different learning paradigm . . . emphasizing discovery through experiences, differentiated teaching, learning of lifelong skills, and the building of character through innovative and effective teaching approaches” (Ho Peng, Director General, Ministry of Education, personal interview, August 2010, cited in Stewart, 2012, p.41).

FINLAND’S EDUCATIONAL METHOD

image source:http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/files/education/finland-blog-pisa-4.jpg

They aim to create independent, creative thinkers and foster a desire to learn in their pupils.

They recognise the need for highly trained teachers and the necessity to provide the funding and resources for teacher training. The government spends a great deal on funding for education.

They promote teaching as a profession to be revered. This means that it is respected amongst its young people, their parents and in society as a whole.

The Finnish government believes in the importance of giving more autonomy to schools to make their own decisions about the curriculum they teach and also how their schools are run.

Both The Singapore system and the Finnish system have recognised the need for “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation.” (Stewart, 2012) 

They realise that education can be a tool that can be used to generate economic growth.

Formal education starts at an older age than in the UK.

COMPARISON OF THE ABOVE METHODS WITH MY TEACHING IN AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

I will compare these ‘success factors’  summarised in the case studies highlighted in the Singapore and Finnish educational systems (Stewart, 2012) with the experience I had in the last International school that I worked in. 

The school  I last worked in was privately funded so the amount of money they received from the pupils’ fees, private donations and fund- raising events, governed how much was available for the school to spend. Had more funds been available, then I believe they would have been able to make better provision for their pupil’s in terms of the resources, but also, they would have been able to afford to pay their teachers a better salary.

LOW FUNDING- LOW SALARY- Teachers and their Profession undervalued

Some teachers felt undervalued because the school was not able to pay them what they considered a decent salary. Rates of pay were a lot lower than in the UK. Also, the school employed some teachers who, although they were very experienced and qualified in their field, did not have QTS.The school paid these teachers significantly less in order to save money elsewhere. Some subjects in the school were considered more important than others. As a result, a general malaise existed amongst some of the teachers and amongst some teaching faculties, some of which had a larger budget for resources than others: this did not create the best working environment. I feel that the school would have benefited from a more equal opportunities policy in terms of funding and salaries.

The notion of respect for the teaching profession which was generated by the Educational policies of the Singapore and Finnish governments d would have been of great benefit in the school I worked in. It relied upon parents who could afford to pay the school’s fees. Some of these parents took the attitude that, as they were paying the teacher’s salary, the teachers were little more than servants there to meet the demands of their offspring. Respect has to be earned, but, I feel that, this also begins with a grass roots approach which tackles the concept of teaching as a profession to be revered. 

EDUCATION SYNONYMOUS WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH

It is interesting to note that the countries, who are seeing the fastest economic growth, like China and Finland, as illustrated in the case studies in “Success Stories From Around the World”, are those whose governments have recognised the importance of elevating the teaching profession to one that is held in greater esteem. They are providing a larger budget for education in the belief that, to put it simply, the more you put in, the more you get out.

I believe that all schools, not just the one I last worked in, would benefit from a greater injection of funds, but, this is not always possible to achieve.  I also believe that the creation of what is perceived to be a ‘successful’ school depends on much more than that. Stewart (2012), makes the point that she has seen some very successful and creative teaching approaches in some of the poorest countries.

Bibliography

Stewart, V. (2012), World-Class Education : Learning from International Models of Excellence and Innovation. Alexandria, US: ASCD, ProQuest ebrary. Web. 19 October 2016.