Singapore’s Education System Through the Lens of Historical Development

Abstract

The establishment of the education system in Singapore is explored. This city-state, unlike many former colonies, has successfully integrated into the global economy, becoming a role model for traditional societies pursuing modernization in today’s environment. Through a comparative systemic analysis, the main characteristics of Singapore’s education system are examined, and their evolution is traced. It is highlighted that they serve as the major factor in the emergence of Singapore as a leader in the Southeast Asian education sector. Tensions between developing supranational and national identities are found with the help of the systemic, typological, comparative, and retrospective methods. It is demonstrated how the two tendencies combine in the educational policy of Singapore. Based on the results obtained, the achievements and shortcomings of Singapore’s educational landscape are discussed, and its future development is predicted. The methods of philosophical hermeneutics and everyday history research are applied in line with advancing approaches to the study of historical processes. The conclusions are drawn with an account of the principles of sociocultural history elaborated by English historians during the 20th century.