July 9- July 13, 2018, Singapore
In collaboration with Moscow regional training center MOUC the INTAMT Academy has organized and conducted a professional development tour to the unique island city-state of Singapore. Representatives of the Ministry of Education of the Moscow region, heads of municipal departments of education and school principals took part in the tour. Participants had an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Singapore best practices in organization, structuring and management of learning environment.
The most important assets of the country which has nearly no natural resources at its disposal, are people. 3% of GDP are allocated to education, which is the second largest area of expenditure in the state budget following health care sector. The slogan „Teachers are architects of the future“ is very popular in Singapore, and that is the reason why teacher is not only the highly regarded and respected profession, but also the highest paying job in the country. On the other hand, the number of aspiring teachers is also very high. Consequently, eligibility criteria are extremely strict and the application process is comprised of several stages. According to statistics, only one-third of all the applicants complete their training and actually become teachers, which means that only the best of the best are able to practice teaching.
Singapore teachers are obliged to continuously develop their professional knowledge, i.e. to take part in professional development programs to improve their knowledge and skills. They are required to collect a total of 100 professional development hours annually. Demanding requirements for teachers in combination with high educational standards enable Singapore to take leading positions in international educational rankings year after year. High school graduates boast a wide range of knowledge and are able to meet challenges of the ever-changing global economy. Besides, according to statistics, 24% of high school graduates belong to the scientifically gifted youth.
During the comprehensive program of the professional development tour Russian guests were introduced to some recipes for success in educational sector. The program included all the aspects and particularities of preschool and school education in Singapore. Russian participants visited the Ministry of Education, National Institute of Education and Academy of Singapore teachers and shared their experience with their colleagues from Singapore. In addition, they had a chance to visit several private and public schools and preschool facilities as well as the center for gifted children. The Russian professionals feel encouraged to put information acquired during the lectures and events into practice at Moscow schools to improve the quality of education there. Thanks to establishing personal and professional contacts there are a lot of opportunities for further close cooperation between two countries in order to develop and foster educational services.
