>Case study of Singapore

STRENGTHS
-Meritocratic, work for reward, reward for work system
-Strongly emphasizes on academic ability and success, lays strong foundation for
students basic knowledge and life skills
-Underscores its longstanding commitment to investing in every student and
developing them to their full potential
-A more holistic approach is taken towards student development, in areas such as
tertiary talents and character (for example banding scraped in 2011)
-Encourages schools to find and build unique niche areas to attract students based on
their strengths in the particular areas
WEAKNESS
-Student unfriendly system in terms of stress and freedom of subject choice
-Success driven society; streaming starts as young as 9 years (GEP)
-Encourages the forming of a dichotomy between students of above average ability
and the mainstream. Continuous system process to sieve out only the best
-Causes students to embrace academic success; to use it as a measure of self worth
and evaluation which is technically incorrect
-students shun occasional failures and strive to uphold streaks of success and this
leads to loss of potential valuable experience as system doesnt allow for any failure

>Case Study of Finland
STRENGTHS
-Instill passion to learn among students instead of molding them to be exam smart
-Schools of equal standards throughout the country with a higher teacher to student
ratio
-Adopts a wide array of teaching styles which prove to be flexible in teaching
different students with different needs
-Teachers are handpicked very carefully by the government and not even degree
holders can instantly apply to be one. This shows how the meticulous process
ensures the utmost quality of education.
WEAKNESS
-Stronger and more gifted students as a whole may have outlets for their particular
talents and strengths, but due to the distribution of resources towards weaker
students some may not be able to develop to their full potential without external
assistance.
>Case Study of China
STRENGTHS
- Chinese schools excel in knowledge-based teaching, in subjects like math and
grammar
- Books like Amy Chuas Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother emphasize the high
calibre of performance of second-generation Chinese students.
- The Chinese Ministry of Education recently released Ten Regulations to
Lessen Academic Burden for Primary School Students for public commentary.
The Ten Regulations are introduced as one more significant measure to
reform Chinas education, in addition to further reduction of academic
content, lowering the academic rigor of textbooks, expanding criteria for
education quality, and improving teacher capacity.

WEAKNESS
- Rote memorization and a focus on math, science, and Chinese studies along
with extensive test prep for middle school, junior high school, high school and
college entrance exams are standard practice. Therefore, there is an emphasis
on rote-learning.
- The Chinas National Higher Education Entrance Examthe countrywide
college entrance exam that is almost the sole factor determining where a
student goes to collegehas contributed to a cutthroat competitive learning
environment.
- The education system is often stressful due to the large amount of time spent
on memorizing.
- There is an uneven distribution in resources. In many areas of China, like
Shanghai, and Beijing, there are many good schools. However, in other
districts, schools often have less facilities and teachers. Therefore, when China
reveals the results for national examinations, many cities often do much
better than the rest. This uneven distribution of resources makes it unfair for
many people in provinces with bad schools as they will tend to do worse for
the national exam.

America
STRENGTHS
- The K-12 system of education provides education to all pupils summing up
primary and secondary education irrespective of whether their performance
levels. The system does not encourage drop outs of children on any
basis. This has made it possible to maintain high retention rates when
compared to other countries.
- Most of the top universities are found in America, making it the country with
the most top schools.

WEAKNESS
- Education is primarily the responsibility of state and local government, and so
there is little standardization in the curriculum, for example. The individual
states have great control over what is taught in their schools and over the
requirements that a student must meet, and they are also responsible for the
funding of schooling. Therefore, there is huge variation regarding courses,
subjects, and other activities it always depends on where the school is
located. This leads to differing standards before students.
- In many poorer areas, education can be very lacking as teachers are not
trained, causing a large education gap.