Abstract:

The Republic of Singapore is an island country with a multicultural population and a unique approach to its education practices compared to the American educational system. Singapore students have excelled in several international educational benchmarks in science, mathematics, and reading, with its primary and secondary school students ranking first in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) global school performance rankings, spanning 76 different countries. OECD is considered the most comprehensive mapping of educational standards. By comparison, the United States ranked 28th in OECD’s metrics, based on a combination of Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Consequently, our team at James Madison University (JMU) knew that outreach to Singapore to learn more about its early childhood education practices would facilitate a mutually beneficial relationship and provide our team with insight on how to bolster our Virginia students.

This educational venture to Singapore universities and early childhood facilities allowed the JMU Research team to network with educators and researchers from Nanyang Technological University, the National University of Singapore, and the Singapore University of Social Sciences to gain insight into the practices and pedagogical structures that have contributed to the success of their students. Our team was able to visit Children’s Cove Preschool, a private commercial center, E-Bridge Preschools, an anchor operator center, and the US Embassy Singapore. During this trip, Dr. Sharifian, an Associate Professor of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education and the Executive Director of Research Center at JMU began conducting a comparative study on Early Childhood Education (ECE) policies and practices in the United States and Singapore.

This study breaks down the Singapore education system in different aspects of learning, training, culture, research, and practices compared to the United States education system.

Keywords:

Comparative Study, Early Childhood Education, Policy, Practices.