Singapore has been assigned the role of a 'model' nation state primarily for two reasons: its rapid rate of economic growth and its outstanding performance on cross-national tests of educational achievement, such as PISA. This has resulted in advocates of reform citing it as illustrating 'best practices', especially in the field of education, and it has more generally been viewed as demonstrating the benefits of economic globalization. This paper analyses from a comparative perspective the more problematic and relatively unexplored third dimension of being a model 'global' nation, namely its impact on income inequality and the quality of citizens' life. We focus on the role of the system of lifelong learning which was designed generally to upgrade the skills of the workforce and specifically to provide low-paid/skilled workers with opportunities to improve incomes and enhance their socio-economic mobility. We demonstrate that despite the remarkable economic growth at a national level and the significant expansion of lifelong learning provision, productivity rates have not improved, income inequality has increased, social mobility has declined and the 'quality of life' is, in comparative terms, poor.

Technology is radically transforming every industry sector in Singapore and most parts of the world. As Singaporean leaders have continually reiterated, this will continue to have a severe impact on jobs, professions and careers. The key to growth ultimately depends on how fast a country is able to restructure its industries to remain competitive and how workers, young or old, can develop new skills to stay relevant. This chapter focuses on Singapore’s SkillsFuture movement and its ambition to encourage every citizen, no matter what stage they are in, to attain personal mastery by continuously learning. It details government efforts at promoting as well as funding skill training, professional conversion programmes and lifelong learning to ensure career resilience especially among older workers. Many of these efforts require close collaboration between government agencies, trade associations, training providers as well as institutes of higher learning. The chapter provides insights into how older workers are adjusting to the digital economy and the disruptive technology, and highlights key success factors that are crucial to ensure that social cohesion and citizen welfare are not sacrificed in the drive to maintain economic growth and stability.

Background: Like many other countries, Singapore needs to support its ageing population by attracting more doctors into general practice (GP) and family medicine (FM). To achieve this requires a better understanding of what attracts or deters medical students. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among medical students in Singapore. Methods: An online survey was distributed to students from all three medical schools to understand their likelihood of choosing primary care careers, what they valued in their careers, their attitude towards different aspects of general practice and family medicine relative to other medical fields, and the positive and negative perceptions of primary care held by themselves, their lecturers, and clinical mentors. They were able to elaborate the negativity encountered in the open-ended questions. Quantitative data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and linear regression; qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Results: The survey was completed by 391 students. Slightly over half indicated a likelihood of choosing a career in primary care. For their own careers, the students valued job satisfaction and career development opportunities the most. They perceived careers in primary care as being most likely to offer reasonable hours and close patient relationships, but least likely to offer career advancement potential relative to other medical fields. Their likelihood of choosing primary care careers was significantly predicted by what they value in their own career and their attitudes toward GP/FM relative to other medical fields, but not by the perceptions of GP/FM by others. Free-text responses illustrated how students encounter derogatory comments about GP/FM: the work being “mundane and repetitive”, the careers non-competitive, and the doctors poor in clinical competence. Conclusion: While the shortage of primary care doctors is a global issue, our findings highlight the value of situating inquiries in localized contexts. Medical curriculum should emphasize the critical role of primary care in the healthcare system and primary care doctors should be given due recognition to build a strong and motivated primary care workforce to serve the future healthcare needs of the population. © 2022, The Author(s).

A model of instruction is a set of strategies that guides teachers in their instructional practice. The purpose of this chapter is to dispel the myth that mathematics teaching in Singapore schools is all about drill and practice, as perceived of many Asian systems. This chapter draws on data of a large project that examined the enactment of school mathematics curriculum in Singapore secondary schools. Based on the teaching practices of 30 competent teachers, a survey was constructed and administered to 677 teachers. The data from the survey showed that teachers go well beyond traditional forms of instruction in their teaching practices in Singapore secondary schools.

This article examines the conception of and procedures for moral education in Singapore’s schools. The unique socio-political framework is seen as the key to moral education in Singapore; it is a situation of considerable complexity – a high degree of pluralism coupled with rapid urbanization and industrialization. The government seeing its task as one of managing diversity while promoting economic growth uses ethnic pride and Asian cultural tradition as a mobilizing force; a preference for de-politicization of the electorate finds a parallel in a lack of political education in the schools. However, the many ambiguities and contradictions in these policies appear not to be appreciated and pose problems for the future. The author’s analysis of recent government reports and curricular trends reveals the serious shortcomings consequent upon the failure to deal adequately with the problems posed for moral education in a plural society.