This article explores how conceptions of responsible parenting are re-negotiated in present-day Singapore. It discusses how policy changes in the pre-school area have affected parental practices and notions of morally worthy parenting. Pre-school reform promoting children's holistic development and less intensive parenting is part of a wider…

Singapore is described as a hybrid neoliberal-developmental state. While politicians have, since the city-state's independence, exercised 'strong' ideological leadership over Singapore's economy and society, including education -- there are simultaneously aspects of 'neoliberal' logics in Singapore's education system: extensive school choice and…

Relatively little work has focused on inclusive education in Singapore. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children with disabilities are attending mainstream secondary schools in Singapore. Data was drawn from interviews with 13 parents of children with mild disabilities. Our findings reveal that parental…

The literature on the immigrant-native educational achievement gap is suggestive of a better performance of immigrant students in countries practising selective immigration policies. However, the origin of such differences has not been investigated. I considered both important observed characteristics as well as the role of unobservables in the…

Since the late 1990s, early study abroad (ESA) in English-speaking countries has been a popular educational strategy for pre-university Korean students to acquire important language skills such as global English, which is imagined to help them prepare for the competition in global educational and occupational market. However, as ESA, commonly…

"Jogi yuhak" (early study abroad) has become a prominent educational and linguistic investment strategy for middle-class Korean families to raise their children as global elites, allowing them to attain multilingual competence through transnational educational migration. Singapore, a newly emerging center of "jogi yuhak",…

This article presents a discussion of the new kindergarten framework in Singapore. The recent launch of the framework indicates a step forward in the field of early years, with a clear recognition of the importance of the early childhood experience. However, it also raises pertinent issues about the social, cultural, and political maxims that…

A study investigated parents' perceptions of the quality of kindergarten education in Singapore. Subjects (437 parents from 10 kindergartens) responded to a survey on reasons for wanting their children to attend kindergarten and their choice of kindergarten. Responses were categorized according to: (1) socioeconomic characteristics of the parents;…