Education Minister Heng Swee Keat stressed theabove point at the 2012 Work Plan Seminar (WPS) in September, repeating what he'd said when he signed a memorandum of understanding with US Secretary of State for Education, Arne Duncan in Washington, DC in February last year. He emphasised that raising the quality of teachers was the most crucial factor in ensuring a top-notch education system.
Speaking to 2,000 principals, vice principals and Ministry of Education (MOE) officials at the WPS, Mr Heng announced in his 90-minute address the following changes: the abolition of secondary school banding, the simplification of the Master Plan of Awards for schools, and the discontinuation of both the School Excellence and Sustained Achievement Awards. He also made it abundantly clear that unreasonable parental demands should not be tolerated.
The Minister's speech shows MOE's desire to reduce teachers' stress and workloads, to improve their welfare and to rebuild a culture of respect for what they do. MOE further plans to fine tune the assessment of teachers, implement a buddy system for them, be more flexible about their holidays and implement more training to increase their overall professionalism.
Teachers to Properly Recharge Themselves
The former Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year in 2011 has been in charge of the Education portfolio since May 2011, and over the past one and a half years, he has been busy visiting over 30 primary and secondary schools, institutes of technical education, polytechnics, junior colleges and universities. He has visited the Singapore International School in Hong Kong twice. As a result of these visits and his interactions with staff and school leaders, the Minister has gained a deeper understanding of the role MOE can play in order to support the principals and teachers on the frontline of education.
He firmly believes this is the key to improving both standards and success. "In the education process, the most important element is the student but in the job of teaching students, educators, school leaders and teachers play the most crucial role. Outstanding educators can inspire their students and have lasting impacts on their lives," he said.
8% Pay Raise for 25,000 Teachers
At the end of May 2011, right before the June holiday, Mr Heng sent a mass email to all the teachers in Singapore. Besides briefly introducing himself, he urged teachers to make use of the holidays to rest and recharge themselves.
Later, he went further in showing his support for the profession when he announced a substantial 8 per cent pay raise for 25,000 teachers on Teachers' Day last year. General and Senior Education Officers saw increments of up to $550 and $830 respectively. Allied Educators received an increment of between 5 per cent and 15 per cent.
This unexpected bonus delighted many teachers. The last time there had been a pay adjustment was in 2008, when graduate teachers saw salary increases of up to 4 per cent and non-graduate teachers up to 3 per cent.
On the eve of Teachers' Day, Mr Heng left a message on the Facebook page of MOE, "It is challenging for our teachers to be in the frontline, day-in, day-out, especially if our teachers also have young children or other family members to take care of. But to our teachers, take heart that your hard work and devotion is well appreciated by all of us, especially at MOE."
Teachers Must Lead by Example
At the same time, Mr Heng reminded educators to abide by strict principles and conduct themselves so as to set good examples for their charges. In November 2012 a Code of Professional Conduct for Educators was developed to help them achieve this end.
In the past year, the MOE has had isolated instances where educators and scholarship holders have behaved inappropriately. In 2010, scholarship holder Jonathan Wong, a History Major at the University of York, was expelled for possession of child pornography. His scholarship was revoked. Shortly after his return, he had sex with a minor and was charged in court, resulting in a five-year jail sentence. The start of last year also saw a principal from a primary school admitting to charges of child prostitution. He was sentenced to nine weeks in prison. Finally, a teacher from a well-known secondary school was charged with sexual misconduct with her underage student. In light of these incidents, the public has become more wary about the professionalism and moral integrity of the teaching workforce.
At the 2012 Teaching Scholarship Presentation Ceremony, the Minister urged the teachers-to-be to uphold their professionalism. "You must also always bear in mind that parents entrust their children to you. That trust and confidence must always be maintained. Students and the public look to teachers to be good role models; likewise, they expect the same - if not more - from teaching scholars and award holders. Such expectations should not be taken lightly. I urge you to do your utmost to live up to these expectations."
Programmes to Raise Professionalism Have Been Progressively Introduced
Programmes to raise professionalism have been progressively introduced over the last two years as well. These generally come under the umbrella of the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) which was set up in 2010 and now trains between 1,000 and 2,000 teachers annually under the Teaching Skills, Mentoring, Structured Mentoring and Academy Fellowship Programmes.
Besides these general initiatives, two new specialist academies will be housed in the new Goh Keng Swee Centre for Education located beside the MOE headquarters at North Buona Vista Road. These are the Physical Education and Sports Teachers' Academy (PESTA) and the Singapore Teachers' Academy for the aRts (STAR).
STAR was inaugurated in July 2011 in order to cater for the training of the 2,000 music and art teachers in Singapore. These teachers will have the opportunity to travel overseas and attend lectures by international masters. STAR has already signed agreements with art experts from America, Canada and China. At its launch Mr Heng said, "A good arts education requires passionate and competent arts teachers," thus re-iterating the MOE's commitment to fostering these qualities.
PESTA, set up August 2011, will provide training for all physical education (PE) teachers. At present there are 1,500 of these but in 2010 MOE announced that the hours of physical education lessons in schools would be increased, and that more teachers would therefore need be recruited for the subject, so that by 2020 the total number will stand at 2,900.
Teaching Quality is the Single Most Important Determinant of Student Outcomes
In May last year, Mr Heng said to a 2,000 strong audience at the 6th Teachers' Conference, "Consistently, research has shown that the single most important determinant of student outcomes is the quality of teaching. The unstinting collective efforts of our educators, past and present, have enabled us to achieve high standards in our education system."
The new knowledge-based economy makes different demands of its workforce, and the skills students need to be equipped with are vastly different from before.
"This new concept of educational success focuses on the nurturing of key skills and competencies such as the ability to seek, to curate and to synthesise information; to create and innovate; to work in diverse cross-cultural teams; and to appreciate global issues within the local context. The 21st century student needs to be confident, proactive and empathetic. In order to groom these students, the demands have changed for the 21st century teacher," said Mr Heng.
The Teacher Growth Model
The Academy of Singapore Teachers has already collected opinions on the learning needs of the 21st century Singapore teacher from educators in over 140 schools, and in June last year it implemented the Teacher Growth Model (TGM) as a result.
This model allows teachers to plan the courses they will take at the Academy according to their teaching experience and needs, and the direction of their career growth. The TGM therefore encourages teachers to pursue their development through multiple modes of learning, including training, mentoring, research-based practice, networking and experiential learning, in order to meet their diverse learning needs.
"We expect our students to be conscientious, and at the same time we wish our teachers to continue to learn and grow, and to continually upgrade themselves. They should take greater ownership of their professional development and be morally upright. They ought to be collaborative learners, and reformative leaders and educators who are willing to contribute to the community in order to groom students to be ethical, cooperative, unafraid of change and willing to give back to society," said Mr Heng, summing up MOE's blueprint for improving both our teachers and students in the near future.
|