Policy and evidence of marketisation of education in Singapore schools

Abstract

The Singapore government introduced education policy initiatives under the Thinking Schools, Learning Nation vision in 1997 to promote greater diversity, autonomy and innovation amonsgt schools. The first part of the paper provides a review of educational policies launched since 1997, and highlights how these reforms manifest salient features of marketing orientation in the Singapore educational system. The second part of the paper illustrates the marketisation of education through one recent nation-wide initiative - the niche area scheme. We argue that schools should instead identify parents' and students' needs, and then develop their 'products' based on competences.