Tensions in defining quality pre-school education: the Singapore context

Abstract

Over the past decade, the government in Singapore has been introducing many initiatives in the early childhood sector to raise the quality of pre-school education. Educational reforms made without consideration of the perspectives and concerns of the participants in the socio-cultural milieu would only lead to superficial implementation. This paper explores how the tensions between the stated policies and the beliefs and attitudes held by educators and parents could compromise the implementation of the intent behind the reforms. Some tensions I explore in this paper are: tensions between the philosophy of child development and expectations of school readiness by the public; tensions in changing teachers' mindsets and beliefs of how to teach and how children learn; and tensions concerning issues of quality and affordability.