27 June 2019
The Ministry of Education has released the results of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) 2018, a five-yearly study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which involved secondary school teachers and principals around the world.
In Singapore, about 3,300 teachers and 167 principals from all 157 secondary schools and 12 private schools selected at random took part in the online questionnaire from September to October 2017.
The OECD survey found that teachers in Singapore generally have positive beliefs about equity and diversity in the classroom. For instance, 99 per cent of principals said most of their teachers feel that schools should encourage students from different socio-economic backgrounds to work together, and that respecting other cultures is something students should learn as early as possible.
In addition, the survey found that Singapore has a high proportion of teachers working in schools where policies and practices on cultural diversity are implemented. For example, almost all Singapore teachers said that their schools organise multicultural events.
As much as 95 per cent of Singapore teachers also said that their schools teach students how to deal with ethnic and cultural discrimination.