Creating Ethics-based Education System Centred on Character and Not Grades

19 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Acting Minister for Education (Schools) what measures are being taken to foster an ethics-based education system in Singapore centred on values and character development and not just academic achievements.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Acting Ministers for Education (Ms Low Yen Ling) (for the Acting Minister for Education (Schools)): Mdm Speaker, education goes beyond the mind, it also involves the heart. In MOE, we agree and we are very passionate about the fact that imparting the right values and character development are central to our mission of education.

To guide our work in this area, we have a framework of six key values that shape our curriculum and these six key values are Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, Integrity, Care and Harmony. Besides nurturing such values, we also focus on developing social and emotional competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management and responsible decision-making. So, that is the framework.

In order to set the foundations of character development and sound values, schools dedicate generally between one and two hours per week to teach character and citizenship as well as social and emotional competencies. And this carefully designed curriculum then allows our students to learn through stories because that is the best way for them to learn and internalise and through discussions, as well as engage in activities, learning journeys and reflections.

The Member would agree that values are not just taught. They are also caught. And that is why MOE creates many opportunities for our students to apply what they have learnt to put into practice the values they have learnt. The latest move last week announced by Acting Minister Ng Chee Meng to let our students participate in the daily cleaning of their school environment is one good example.

In our schools, the "Values in Action" projects, class and leadership responsibility, Physical Education (PE) lessons, for example, inter-class games, project work and also Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) are all part of the moulding process where it gives a lot of opportunities for our young to apply what they have learnt about character development and with a view of shaping our young into men and women of good character.

Along the way, our students receive feedback about their development from their teachers and their peers, and this is summed up by the form teacher in the Holistic Development Profiles at the end of each school year.

To shape our young generation, we also need role models of exemplary character. In the selection of our teachers and school leaders, MOE looks for people with integrity, essentially role models who embrace and exemplify the core values that I have talked about earlier. In training, NIE makes it a point to focus on Character and Citizenship development. It also equips teachers with the skills and knowledge to impart love for Singapore and our core values. Other than that, workshops and seminars are also held every year for in-service teachers and key personnel to allow them to refresh and deepen their capabilities in values education. So, that is for teachers.

In recent years, our schools and MOE have increased efforts to share all these development and efforts, and to involve our parents, very important stakeholders in values education. In fact, our Primary school textbooks and Parent Support Groups (PSG) offer opportunities for family time, with suggested fun activities for family bonding and through the process, also value development. Parents are the best teachers at home.

This consistently weaves a set of important values around our students, not just in school but at home, in school and also society, through Values In Action projects, and that really helps to set a sound foundation for their character growth.

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for her answer. On the issue of character and CCA, if a child wants to participate in school in a team sport, just to be able to learn team spirit, camaraderie, values on the field and selflessness, would the school allow that child to participate notwithstanding that the child is not of a school team standard?

Why I asked is, parents and some residents have shared with me that some schools are too "medals-focused" when it comes to sports. Therefore, this prevents students, who are just wanting to participate for the sake of participating and understanding what sport can provide to them, from doing so. So, would team sports be a vehicle of character building in schools?

Ms Low Yen Ling: I want to thank the Member for the supplementary question and I want to reassure him and the other Members that we agree that whether it is PE or CCA team sports or even uniformed groups, these are very good platforms for our students, our young ones to understand the importance of teamwork, perseverance, resilience and so on.

In the area of sports, our schools have also, in the last few years, focused on a broad-based approach: giving our students an opportunity to experience various types of sports even if they did not have a foundation in the particular sports. And this is really in line with our focus for "Values In Action", which was reframed from the Community Involvement Projects (CIP). Whether it is the PE lessons or lessons in class, or the way we look at sports participation, we are looking at how we can avail such opportunities on a broad-base basis to our students to allow them to develop the six important values that I have talked about.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary if there are any checks by MOE on whether the two hours, that she mentioned per week, that are supposed to be spent on value and character building, whether do the schools use the time for such purpose?

The reason I ask this is that many of my residents, they recall very favourably the 好公民 lessons during their times. They are asking whether this is still taught in schools. Secondly, they say that sometimes, the lessons could be taken by the form teacher to use it for other purposes because it is very result-oriented nowadays. So, I would like to ask whether are there such checks and whether 好公民 is still taught in school?

Ms Low Yen Ling:I want to assure the Member, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, there is a framework for guiding how the curriculum is implemented in the classroom. Maybe I can give some examples. Generally, 80 hours are allocated for CCE lessons at the pre-University levels across two to three years of which 40 hours are for CCE lessons and 40 hours are for school-designed CCE. It is not what just you learn from the textbooks, it is also about applying it in the school environment, whether it is cleaning and respecting teachers and so on. The other 40 hours of school-designed CCE includes assembly programmes and also leadership development programmes. That is for the pre-University level.

For the Secondary level, I want to assure the Member that 60 hours per year are allocated to be carried out over two hours per week. There is a textbook. I am a mother of two young boys, 8 and 11 years old, and so I check their bags every night and I see their textbooks. They do have an activity book that they have to do; not just copy and do 习字 but also do a simple activity with the parents. So, I can attest to that, as a parent myself.

The 60 hours at the Secondary level comprise CCE lessons, school-based CCE would be similar to the pre-University assembly programmes and guidance modules. What are guidance modules? This includes education, career guidance, cyber-wellness – very important for young ones now – and sexuality education.

For the upper Primary level, it would be 60 hours to 75 hours per year, and this includes one to two hours on a weekly basis. So, the curriculum time is not just set broadly; it is guided through a carefully designed curriculum to be taught, not just in the classroom, but also within the school environment.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the responses. Just a supplementary question. If values and character-based development are so important in one's education, can MOE then take these into account in crucial milestone decisions, such as entry into schools of choice of the students, or especially for the high-stake examinations, or in decisions such as the awarding of scholarships, and also entry into Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs)? Is there any way by which MOE can strengthen the alignment between the importance of this aspect of education with all the other crucial decisions in our education system?

Ms Low Yen Ling:I want to thank the Member, Ms Denise Phua, for her very thoughtful suggestions. We want to assure her that MOE is generally moving in that direction. The Member would have taken note of Acting Minister Ong Ye Kung's sharing that for higher education, the institutes are also given some discretion to assess and enrol students, not just looking at their academic results, but looking at their holistic development and their character development. That is the first point.

For the second point, maybe, it is useful for me to take the opportunity to share that we do work with our schools to use the School Excellence model to evaluate their efforts and programmes about character development and citizenship through a few ways: students' feedback, survey and school-based indication. One example is schools have been giving out school awards for good character. Some of these awards are familiar to many Members in this House. They range from individual awards at the class level, at the school level with badges or certificates given, and even group awards, such as the "Most Responsible Class".

MOE introduced the Edusave Character Award (ECHA) in 2012, four years ago, to enable our schools to recognise the students who demonstrate exemplary character and outstanding personal qualities through their behaviour and actions. If you talk to the IHL principals and faculty members, over the last four years, they do take note of students. Everything being equal, they will look at the students who have been given those kind of awards, like the ECHA, because it would mean that this is a socially responsible Singaporean who would be able to contribute to the school and the society in the future.

In the annual performance for teachers, one of the Key Result Areas is character development of students. When we look at working with our teachers, we also work with them to ensure that this is an area they look at – working with their students to develop their character and imparting the right values.

We agree with the Member that this is important. We need to take a holistic and systematic approach to ensure that there is consistency within the education system from the schools to IHLs.