Singapore’s Minister for Education Mr Heng Swee Keat and US Secretary of Education Mr Arne Duncan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance collaboration in education between the two countries. This took place in Washington, DC on 7 February 2012.

Collaborations in education are a key aspect of the broad and deep relations between the US and Singapore. This MOU builds on the first US-Singapore MOU on education signed in 2002, which focused primarily on the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science.

The three key areas of collaboration in the 2012 MOU are: (a) teaching and learning of Mathematics and Sciences; (b) teacher development and school leadership; and (c) education research and benchmarking studies. The extension in scope of collaborations reflects the significant expansion in cooperative efforts and exchanges in education between the two countries since the signing of the first MOU.

Commenting on the MOU, Mr Heng said, “Whether in the US or Singapore, we all want our children to be well prepared for the future. To provide our children with a good education, we need good teachers and good school leaders, working together to deliver a holistic and future-oriented curriculum. Learning from the experiences and achievements in other countries, and deriving insights from research and benchmarking studies will also stimulate us to explore areas of improvement. This broader and deeper MOU builds on the success of the earlier collaboration. We look forward to working closely with the US on these two new areas - the development of teachers and school leaders and research and international benchmarking. Our collaboration with other countries is part of our continuing effort to provide the best possible education for our children.”

Since 2002, the US and Singapore have engaged in a number of dialogues, sharing sessions, and projects in the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science. An MOE delegation visited Washington, DC in 2009 to share on the Singapore model method for learning mathematics, and to launch a book outlining our approach. There are also longstanding collaborations in the learning of Science at the school level, such as the Research Science Institute programme1 and MOE’s collaboration with the Dolan DNA Learning Centre2. We will continue to explore ways to deepen our collaboration in these areas.

Both the US and Singapore view teacher development and school leadership as critical in establishing a world-class education system, and are committed to working together to share best practices and experiences in these areas to improve both our education systems. Then-Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education (MOE), S Iswaran and senior MOE officials had shared Singapore’s experiences at the first International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) in 2011. The National Institute of Education (NIE) and Columbia University’s Teacher’s College are launching a joint Masters of Arts in Leadership and Educational Change. This joint Masters programme will take in students from January 2013 and builds on the strengths of both institutions in the two countries to equip leaders in education with the necessary skills and knowledge to take on curriculum leadership roles in their schools.

Closer collaboration in education research and benchmarking studies will help both countries deepen our understanding of best practices in education, especially in support of Singapore’s increased emphasis in holistic education. The measurement of student development outcomes in non-academic areas is at the cutting edge of educational research and benchmarking efforts.

Footnotes:

MOE has been sending students in the first year of junior college to participate in the Research Science Institute programme organised by MIT’s Centre for Excellence in Education for Junior College students since 1986. The annual 6-week science enrichment programme aims to stimulate interest and foster the intellectual and practical skills of students gifted in Science and Mathematics.

MOE signed an MOU with the Dolan DNA Learning Centre in 2002 covering collaboration in teacher training, curriculum development and establishing infrastructure to support the teaching and learning of life sciences.