A Contextualized Account of Holistic Education in Finland and Singapore: Implications on Singapore Educational Context
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A Contextualized Account of Holistic Education in Finland and Singapore: Implications on Singapore Educational Context Daphnee Hui Lin Lee • Helen Hong Hannele Niemi
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De La Salle University 2014
Abstract This paper examines holistic education initiatives of two high-performing education systems—Finland and Singapore. This qualitative analysis captures a phenomenological schooling experience of holistic education under the two systems. Our conceptualization of holistic education focuses on two key dimensions: transformative learning and community engagement. Indications of transformative learning were observed through the (un)structured play activities that students engaged in. For community engagement, we examined the imperatives that underpin community engagement initiatives that students were exposed to. A sociological explanation of this account discusses the context that shapes approaches to holistic learning, and how changes in schooling approaches mirrorchanging educational landscapes in both Finland and Singapore. Implications on Singapore’s holistic education will then be drawn. Keywords Finland Singapore High-performing education systems Holistic education Transformative learning Community engagement
D. H. L. Lee H. Hong (&) National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore e-mail: [email protected] D. H. L. Lee e-mail: [email protected] H. Niemi University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland e-mail: [email protected]
Introduction Stellar Performers in Education Finland and Singapore are two nations enjoying enviable rankings in international testing benchmarks for academic subjects at all levels. Students from both countries are among the top scorers in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), achieving stellar results in all levels and areas of assessments (OECD 2010, pp. 6–7). In the globally-acclaimed McKinsey report on education systems, both countries bagged accolades in teacher professional development and student academic achievement (McKinsey 2009). High-performing school systems do not miraculously appear overnight. Finland’s ‘‘miracle of education’’ is the crystallization of five decades of change efforts in all realms of Finnish society (Niemi et al. 2012). Singapore’s orchestrated work at all levels in the education realm is required for the actualization of high performance (Hargreaves and Shirley 2012). Finland and Singapore may appear to be distinctive in terms of geography, structure, and culture. However, both share a spirited resolve against blind emulation of international trends, and the openness to learning from policy initiatives of other exemplars (Hargreaves and Shirley 2012, p. 67). Although their standing has been qualified by academic benchmarks, they had not rested their laurels upon these benchmarks. The two nations ventured beyond academic performance to develop well-rounded citizens with upright chara
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