Singapore is an extraordinary success story. Since becoming an independent republic in 1965, the country has transformed from an impoverished island with little natural resources and a demographic of mostly illiterate population of 5.8 million people whose living standards match those of the foremost highly-developed industrial nations. From the very beginning, Lee Kuan Yew, the prime minister who led Singapore to the current achievement, understood that an informed workforce would be essential to fulfilling his ambitious economic goals.
In 2009, when Singapore, for the very first time participated within the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the results of Prime Minister Lee’s efforts were outrightly evident. That year, Singapore’s 15-year-olds were among the highest performers in all three subjects. In 2015, the state was first among all the countries in the world in a total of three subjects; in 2018, four Chinese provinces outperformed Singapore, but the tiny island nation continued to outperform every other nation.
The education system in a Singapore School
The education system in a Singapore school includes six years of primary school, followed by four to six years of secondary school, and one to three years of postsecondary school. The curriculum for primary schools is common for all students in years one to four. Today as more international primary schools increase in Singapore, the parents have turned towards the Montessori Curriculum.
About Montessori Schools
Montessori schools are schools that follow the Montessori Method of Education. This method was devised back in the early 1900’s by the Italian physician Maria Montessori. She spent many years studying children and their response to different methods of teaching; she spoke of her study by calling it ‘scientific pedagogy’. The Montessori Method of Education is essentially a child – focused modus operandi as opposed to the traditional school method that is teacher and lesson centered. The Montessori schools pay attention to each child’s specific needs. Some out of the box practices that are particular to Montessori schools are: mixed-age classrooms, student liberty (for e.g. they can choose an activity of their choice), extended periods of undisturbed work time, and specially trained remarkable teachers.
There are more than twenty thousand (20,000) Montessori schools in the entire world and the numbers are only increasing. A lot of public schools have also begun adopting the Montessori Method of Education. Most schools are also upgrading to the Global Montessori Plus(GMP) Programme. This is basically customisation of Maria Montessori’s world-renowned method of kindergarten teaching. The ‘Plus’ in GMP is an integration of the original theory with modern methodologies designed through contemporary research and insight for a nursery school. They have infused the fundamentals of formal learning at a Montessori school with the latest innovative learning tools, to offer unique development and growth opportunities for the students.
The five pillars of Montessori Schools in Singapore are as follows:
- Accelerate Programme at Montessori Singapore School
Accelerating basic literacy skills with special emphasis on excellence is what the ‘Excelerate’ Programme at Montessori schools in Singapore is all about. Their emphasis lies in giving students fluency in language through listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, as well as providing numeracy skills through math in a fun and interesting manner. The individualistic focus has resulted in the students being fast and eager learners from a young age. This sets the GMP curriculum apart from other curricula in Singapore schools.
- Multi-Faceted Learning with Montessori Curriculum
It is important to recognise that in a GMP school programme, every child is different. The school’s Thematic Learning methodology aims to keep the individuality of students in mind along with creating interactive activities for them. Most of these activities focused on fostering the students’ inherent personalities along with helping them to develop their intellectual capacities in a stable manner. This holistic approach by the Montessori schools, aids in the all-round development of the students.
- iPlay Programme with Global Montessori Plus School
In any Montessori school, play is an essential part at the kindergarten level – for physical, social-emotional and cognitive student development. Through the global Montessori plus programme, the schools create the right environment for their students to interact and learn. They give them the choice of what to play, how to play and whom to play with under thorough learned supervision. This practical perspective is introduced to encourage students to gain information and assimilate it which in turn inculcates in them the skills of independence, cooperation and management.
- iCare Programme
Sensitising the students towards the community and the environment is a major part of the Montessori nursery school GMP programme. Through activities like gardening or charity drives, they teach students the universal values of compassion, kindness and giving. At the Montessori international school Singapore, interaction with community members and participation in bonding activities also helps them understand the importance of honesty, punctuality and integrity which are strong character-building foundations for their bright future.
- Future Ready Programme
Giving the Montessori school kids an early start through NextGen Learning is a way of giving them an early start to understand and adopt key disciplines of the 21st century. The future-ready programmes in Montessori curriculum include a dynamic, hands-on approach to learning Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), which develops in them a love for subjects through active participation, encouraging the students to think critically, creatively while polishing their mental capabilities.
Below is the Best Montessori school in Singapore :
Various schools arrange multiple learning methods and curricula which provide a range of learning opportunities for the children starting from a Montessori school. Parents do thorough research of these various courses to ensure that their children get the best education for the right development.
In the Singapore country, Global Indian International School is one of the most well known schools that provides this curriculum. The Global Montessori Plus Programme offered by GIIS, is an award-winning international kindergarten programme with a blend of the reputed Montessori approach along with it’s best practices of modern pre-school education. It is unlike any other program at any international pre school in Singapore.
Conclusion
This unusual approach to education makes Montessori schools unique. The above methods lead to the student gaining a high proficiency in subjects like Math, their vocabulary and language skills, analytical skills, self – regulation and social skills. The students are allowed to grow in an environment that is open to new ideas and not restrictive and suffocating.