Are A’s no longer everything?
As it turns out, Singaporean parents are no longer that results oriented anymore.
A recent survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies revealed that when it comes to defining a good primary school, Singaporean parents actually value the social and emotional development of their child above all things.
Specifically, when 1,500 local parents were asked about the most important characteristics in determining a good primary school, 97.2% of them rated “teachers who care for the students’ social-emotional development” as essential, very important and important.
This suggests that the primary school education scene is changing, with the parents of today valuing social and emotional factors like good facilities, school discipline, character development and the the importance of parental feedback to the school.
This comes as a huge surprise seeing as to how some local parents are willing to pay up to $5,000 in tuition fees to achieve academic excellence.
In an interview with The Straits Times, Mathew Mathews – the lead investigator for this study – called these results a gradual shift in parents’ mindset, as he commented:
“Many of us as parents grew up in a system that placed a lot of emphasis on examinations and grades, so that pattern is still prominent in our mind.”
Equality was also an important issue, with 97.0% of parents listing “Opportunities for all students regardless of family background” as an important factor.
However, the pursuit of academic excellence was still not too far behind – 97.0% of parents chose the school’s ability to develop a strong academic foundation as important.
I guess while it’s good progress, some stigmas aren’t broken yet.
Discipline and Good Schools
The study – which was conducted over 3 months among parents with a median age of 42 – also revealed several interesting tidbits about our primary school education scene.
For one, despite the skepticism surrounding the “every school is a good school” mission, Singaporean parents seem to buy into it.
The survey revealed that 90.8% of local parents agreeing or strongly agreeing that Singapore’s education system is the best in the world.
90.4 % of parents also agreed and strongly agreed that most primary schools in Singapore provide high quality education.
Also, it showed that Singaporean parents still love their discipline. 36.1% of respondents stated that they had to discipline their child more than weekly or every month due to homework.
Finally, 93.1% of parents also strongly agreed and agreed that discipline was important in a child’s development.
So, while social and emotional needs are becoming increasingly important to Singaporean parents, it seems their traditional mentality has not entirely disappeared.
Ultimately, while personal development in a child’s primary education remains key, it is only minimally ahead of your typical Tiger Mom concerns.
