Singapore is a nation with population equivalent to the GTA. It is regarded as a thriving and successful country despite having no natural resources of its own.
Interestingly, Children in Singapore are known to perform exceptionally well in Math and it’s not because of high end tuition centers in Singapore. There’s more to it!
Singapore has consistently maintained its position near to the top in math scores in international assessments.
Let’s find out how!
All children in Singapore are required to write down examinations at the end of grade 6.
The results of these exams have a significant impact on their subsequent admissions to the secondary schools. The children get admitted to the prestigious schools based upon their scores that they achieve in these examinations. These scores are the main points that decide the level of opportunities that open up for these students.
All these students experience tremendous parental pressure to be successful in these examinations. And as such these students prepare for these examinations for months together and get assistance from experienced tutors at various tuition centers in Singapore too!
Thankfully, students experience no barrier such as equality or poverty.
It is a common belief that if the children do well in these exams, they have equal opportunities available as for any other student of same caliber, irrespective of the family background.
How do Children in Singapore Deal with Math?
If a child is not able to perform well in Math in Singapore, it is generally not regarded as a problem of the respective teacher, tuition center in Singapore, school or the curriculum.
It is typically assumed to be the problem concerning a student and is therefore left to parents.
Parents are expected to find a suitable solution to help their child get over the Math phobia.
They usually do so by hiring a good tutor after interviewing a few leads provided by a tuition center in Singapore.
Parents also visit various book stores and purchase couple of books to give their children extra questions to practice to cover up all major subjects and grade levels. They actually make it a point to sit with their children to ensure that they cover all practice problems and waste not even a minute of their study time.
What to Expect
The final result of this kind of behavior is very clear and is also observed every time there is an international comparison of performance in mathematics. Singapore has always made it to the top.
Unusually, people in Singapore also worry about slipping a position or two in the rankings!
The Final Word
It can safely be concluded that the performance of the students in Singapore is not the end result of the teaching methods, their curriculum or the school facilities available.
The exceptional performance of students is the result of the cultural norms and above all the societal expectations.