Don’t fall into the “tyranny” of PISA testing for national school standards. That message, from Tan Tarn How (Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies) who spoke at The HEAD Foundation on 9 July, came as he called for a new approach to education in Singapore. Mathematical, science, reading and problem solving, which the PISA tests aim to assess, are critical skills for the economy. But they do not measure other important skills like knowledge in the arts, culture, sports and of values, which Tan aims to address in designing an alternative ”education index” to measure whether schools enable the flourishing of a fully realised human life. By examining eastern and western philosophical contexts too, Tan showed how the perception that rote learning is native to Asian traditions is a false one – citing Confucian texts, Tan found clear evidence of humanistic ideals which can apply to education goals too.
Is it Time for a New Approach to Education in Singapore?
