Toward an educational view of scaling: sufficing standard and not a gold standard

Abstract

Educational innovations in Singapore have reached fruition. It is now important to consider different innovations and issues that enable innovations to scale and become widespread. This proposition paper outlines two views of scaling and its relation to education systems. We argue that a linear model used in the medical field stresses top-down replication of a “gold standard” to multiple contexts. This view is similar to scaling in centralized education settings. A project-oriented view stresses bottom-up spreading or diffusing innovations from localized settings to wider contexts. This view is more aligned with scaling in decentralized education systems. Instead of top-down or bottom-up views of scaling, this paper proposes an ecological model of scaling from a system’s perspective. It emphasizes a sufficing standard that considers top-down and bottom-up structures as well as qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Accommodations are made to populate different innovations across the system. Top-down supports are given to enable bottom-up innovations. Qualitative dimensions in the form of tacit understandings are more important than replicating explicit or procedural knowledge. The spreading of education innovations is cultivated by nurturing professional learning communities, communities of practices, and keeping tabs of their growth within the system as well as identifying areas for improvement through quantitative, baseline studies.