Session 1: A short comparison between S'pore & NZ LE

When i was visiting some schools in New Zealand a few months back, I noticed that the physical environment was very people oriented. There was that sense of community-spiritedness. Walls are adorned with photos of students and one gets the idea that it's not just names of people but actual people instead. Just look around most school foyers and you may know what i mean.

S'pore's school climate reeks of achievement and meritocracy with a strong economic focus. In NZ, the community is upheld so much that it's part of school life to tie curriculum goals with community projects so that they can raise funds for the less fortunate. Our students on the other hand, have to be pushed to perform CIP.

But that said, the learning environment is very much tied once again to the educational outcome that we wish to see. Use cooperative learning strategies and you'll develop pupils to learn to work together. Use a traditional lecture-type approach and you'll get pupils who are generally more docile. The latter may have worked in the past due to the need for obedient workers in manufacturing companies but the need for creativity in the service industry, where our students will be in demands a learning environment that encourages them to voice their opinions yet combined with adequate knowledge.