Introduction - Singapore's Education System - Resource Guides at National Library, Singapore

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Welcome

Given the good reputation of MOE's education system today worldwide, it is easy to forget that even as recent as 1979, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew thought "the problems innumerable" in the Goh report. Singapore's fairly unified school system is vastly different from the hodgepodge of schools in earlier times, which taught in different languages and used curriculum designed in different countries.

The success no doubt prompts the question, "how did the Singapore education system evolve"?

This resource guide aims to provide the reader interested in the historical development of Singapore's education system a list of materials available from the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library and our electronic databases. Its emphasis is on the eductional structure and policy support, rather than curriculum, specific schools or personalities.

The guide is divided into the following sections.

History
- 1820s-1945
- 1945-1959
- 1959-1979
- 1979-1997
Education System Today
Bilingual Education
Mathematics Education
Technology in Schools
Vocational & Technical Education
Special Education

Each section begins with a historical overview to help the reader put the resources in context.

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Editorial Notes

Types of materials included are:
- Print materials from the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Some of these materials can also be found in the public libraries; the reader can click on the hyperlink that activates NLB's catalogue.
- Microfilms from the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library.
- Academic Journals from electronic databases accessible from NLB's website.
- Websites

This guide highlights items in the collection, and is thus not intended to be comprehensive. Interested readers should search the NLB catalogues for more works. There is a greater focus on works authored by senior management of MOE and MOE's associated institutions, as they would have first-hand involvement in major policies. Singapore's education system is not perfect; scholarly critiques are also welcomed and included.