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For more than three decades the education system in Singapore, based on the mantra of meritocracy, has been successful in steering the island state towards high achievement. A strong political will has framed the educational policy as an investment for a productive and cohesive society in an internationally competitive context. Education is considered to be a powerful tool by which the integration of culturally different racial groups is facilitated. In the education of children with special needs, Singapore currently shares similar provisions with countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia. Besides special schools, there is provision for inclusion in the mainstream schools. However, critics have pointed out that the expectation to adapt to the mainstream environment where the benchmark is scholastic achievements has made it difficult for children with special needs to be successful learners. This paper will explore the issue of including special education in the portfolio of social capital investment through an examination of the limitations of the current implementation of inclusion in Singapore. It will put forward the argument that inclusive education is not just about social justice, but it could be a means to forge connectedness and foster social wellbeing and character building in all students. The paper will call for an expansion of the role of special education in the light of nation building. It will argue that the pragmatism that has served Singapore so well in past decades of development might continue to ensure that special education is harnessed and viewed as an integral component of the social cohesion equation to meet the challenges ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in Mathematics and Science Study are two highly respected studies of school pupils' academic achievement. English policy-makers have been disappointed with school children's performance on these tests, particularly in comparison to the strong results of young people from East Asia. In this paper, we provide new insight into the England-East Asia gap in school children's mathematics skills. We do so by considering how cross-national differences in math test scores change between ages 10 and 16. Our results suggest that, although average math test scores are higher in East Asian countries, this achievement gap does not increase between ages 10 and 16. We thus conclude that reforming the secondary school system may not be the most effective way for England to 'catch up' with the East Asian nations in the PISA math rankings. Rather, earlier intervention, during pre-school and primary school, may be needed instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has examined constructions of gender among young British-Chinese. This paper seeks to further understanding in this area, particularly in relation to notions of ‘laddism’ currently deployed in educational policy discourse around gender and achievement. As a group British-Chinese boys tend to very high achievement in the British Education system. The notion of ‘laddish behaviour’ as an explanation for boys’ apparent underachievement in comparison to girls at GCSE level was discussed with British-Chinese pupils. An overwhelming majority of British-Chinese pupils supported this explanation, and a majority of these pupils applied notions of ‘laddish behaviour’ to British-Chinese boys, to some extent contesting stereotypes of the Chinese as uniformly ‘good pupils’. However, the discourses of ‘the good Chinese pupil’ and ‘Chinese value of education’ were frequently drawn on by pupil respondents, with the result that the pupils often presented British-Chinese manifestations of ‘laddism’ as mild versions in comparison with pernicious ‘others’. The paper discusses different presentations of laddism among some of the male respondents. It concludes by analysing the impact of ‘raced’ and gendered discourses on British-Chinese constructions of masculinity. British-Chinese boys may be able to adopt versions of masculinity which do not impede their learning, but this tended to result in their masculinity being problematised in teacher discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the short run impact of one of the U.K. government's flagship education policies, the Excellence in Cities (EiC) program. EiC is aimed specifically at alleviating poor student achievement in inner city areas. The analysis compares educational attainment in Maths and English for Year 9 (age 14) students before and after EiC introduction in EiC schools as compared to non-EiC schools. School-level absences in treatment and control schools are also compared. The results show a positive, though small, improvement in pupil attainment and a strong reduction in absences within EiC schools relative to schools in the comparison group. We interpret the findings as evidence that policies like EiC can impact positively on pupil attainment and attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summarizes several articles on education in Great Britain. Analysis of the results of voluntary tests to determine academic achievement; Opposition experienced by comprehensive selective schools from both the Conservative and Labour governments; Support of the Scottish government to comprehensive schools; Investigation on the Education Action Zones established by the Labour government in the late 1990s.

A consultative paper on the education and training needs of the 16-18 year old age group was sent in February by the Government to a wide range of bodies, including local authority and teacher associations, employer and trade union organisations. The introduction points out that the education and training needs of this age group have been a matter of much public concern in recent years. Their abilities, aspirations and potential differ widely, but all are equally deserving of help from society and those young people who have been neglected in the past should be provided for in the future. A requirement for real progress is that a measure of agreement should exist among local authorities, teachers, voluntary bodies, employers, trade unions and of course young people and their parents.