Abstract
Policy makers in both Singapore and Hong Kong have been preoccupied by the need to meet the economic competitiveness challenges of a global economy. As education is widely considered as a social investment which contributes significantly to economic growth, both in Singapore and Hong Kong, there is a consensus that the school curriculum needs to be reformed to prepare for the knowledge-based society in which enhanced human capital is needed to preserve both city-states’ competitive advantages in the global economy. Ongoing school curriculum reforms are also about inculcating civic, political and social identity among the younger generation so as to keep the “local” alive in the “global” environment. Similar rationales and policy contexts for the school curriculum reforms can be found in both places. However, the ways the reform policies were, and are, formed and implemented in Singapore and Hong Kong differ from each other because of the divergences in the orientation and strength of the state in both city-states. This article examines how school curriculum reforms in Singapore and Hong Kong are similar and different from each other, and also discusses how the state factor affects the formation and implementation of policy and reform initiatives. It argues that while globalization is a major trigger, different reform policies found in both city-states are best seen as an action of integrating between the “local” and the “global” in the process of “glocalization”, in which the state’s role in shaping education and curriculum policies while different remains prominent.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Bottery, M. (2000). Education, policy and ethics. London: Continuum.
Cerny, P. (1990). The Changing architecture of politics: Structure, agency, and the future of the state. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Chiu, S., & Lui, T. (2009). Hong Kong: Becoming a Chinese global city. London: Routledge.
Chong, T. (2011, September 27). Zen criticizes agenda. South China Morning Post.
Chong, D. (2012). National education subject to be delayed. South China Morning Post, 26(January).
Chubb, J., & Moe, T. (1990). Politics, markets and America’s schools. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
Curriculum Development Council. (2000). Learning to learn: The way forward in curriculum development – Consultation document. Hong Kong: The Government Printer.
Curriculum Development Council. (2011a). Consultation on moral and national education curriculum (summary). Hong Kong: Curriculum Development Council.
Curriculum Development Council. (2011b). Moral and national education: Curriculum guide (Primary 1 to Secondary 6). Hong Kong: Curriculum Development Council.
Dale, R. (2000). Globalization: A new world for comparative education? In J. Schriewer (Ed.), Discourse formation in comparative education (pp. 87–109). Berlin: Peter Lang.
Daun, H. (2002). Globalization and national education systems. In H. Daun (Ed.), Educational restructuring in the context of globalization and national policy (pp. 1–31). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Deng, Z. (2010). Curriculum planning and systems change. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGraw (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (Vol. 1, pp. 384–389). Oxford: Elsevier.
Education and Manpower Bureau. (2005). The new academic structure for senior secondary education and higher education – Action plan for investing in the future of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Education and Manpower Bureau.
Education Commission. (2000). Learning for life, learning through life: Reform proposals for the education system in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Government Printer.
Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the globalized world in the 21st century. New York: Penguine.
Giddens, A. (1991). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Giddens, A. (1999). Runaway world: How globalization is reshaping our lives. London: Profile Books.
Goh, C. (1997). Speech by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the opening of the 7th international conference on thinking on 2 June – Shaping our future: Thinking schools, learning nation. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Goh, C., & Gopinathan, S. (2005). History education and the construction of national identity in Singapore, 1945–2000. In E. Vickers & A. Jones (Eds.), History education and national identity in East Asia (pp. 203–225). New York: Routledge.
Gopinathan, S. (1997). Education and development in Singapore. In J. Tan, S. Gopinathan, & W. Ho (Eds.), Education in Singapore: A book of readings (pp. 33–54). Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Gopinathan, S. (1999). Preparing for the next Rung: Economic restructuring and educational reform in Singapore. Journal of Education and Work, 12(3), 295–308.
Gopinathan, S. (2012). Are we all global citizen now?: Reflections on citizenship and citizenship education in a globalising world (with special reference to Singapore). Hong Kong: Centre for Governance and Citizenship, The Hong Kong Institute of Education.
Gopinathan, S., & Sharpe, L. (2004). New bearings for citizenship education in Singapore. In W. Lee, D. Grossman, K. Kennedy, & G. Fairbrother (Eds.), Citizenship education in Asia and the pacific: Concepts and issues (pp. 119–131). Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Heng, S. (2011). Opening address by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, at the Ministry of Education Work Plan Seminar, on 22 September. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Kennedy, K. (2005). Changing schools for changing times: New directions for the school curriculum in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Lee, H. (1997). Speech by BG Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister at the launch of national education on 17 May – National education. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education. (1998). Learning, creating, communicating: A curriculum review. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education. (2002). Report of the Junior College/Upper Secondary Education Review Committee. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education. (2008). Recent developments in Singapore’s education system: Gearing up for 2015. Paper presented at International Education Leaders’ Dialogue: Third conference. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education. (2009). Report of the Primary Education Review and Implementation Committee. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education. (2010). Report of the secondary education review and implementation committee. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Morris, P., & Adamson, B. (2010). Curriculum, schooling and society in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Ng, H. (2008). Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the Ministry of Education Work Plan Seminar 2008, on 25 September. Singapore: Ministry of Education.
Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing education policy. London: Routledge.
Sim, J., & Print, M. (2009). Citizenship education in Singapore: Controlling or empowering teacher understanding and practice? Oxford Review of Education, 35(6), 705–723.
Singapore 21 Committee. (1999). Singapore 21: Together, we make the difference. Singapore: Singapore 21 Committee, Prime Minister Office, The Government of Singapore.
Tan, J. (1997). The rise and fall of religious knowledge in Singapore secondary schools. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 29(5), 603–624.
Tan, J. (2008). Whither national education? In J. Tan & P. Ng (Eds.), Thinking schools, learning nation: Contemporary issues and challenges (pp. 72–86). Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Tsui, A. (2004). Medium of instruction in Hong Kong: One country, Two systems, whose language? In J. Tollefson & A. Tsui (Eds.), Medium of instruction policies: Which agenda? Whose agenda? (pp. 97–116). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lee, M.H., Gopinathan, S. (2015). Inculcating National Identity and Economic Competiveness: A Comparative Study of Curriculum Reforms in Singapore and Hong Kong. In: Zajda, J. (eds) Globalisation, Ideology and Politics of Education Reforms. Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19506-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19506-3_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-19505-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-19506-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)