Singapore plans to replace streaming in secondary schools with subject-based banding by 2024. Lionel Oh explores how this banding could be implemented in a flexible yet substantive way that best captures the spirit of the policy intent, so that it does not simply become yet another form of educational stratification.

As part of the Smart Nation initiative, the government has been pushing for Singapore to go fully cashless within the next few years. Soh Kian Peng lays out the benefits and drawbacks of this move and explains why a complete switch away from cash might not be desirable.

BY LUIS CARLOS RAMIREZ MARTINEZ In the last two decades, the United States has fought at least two trade wars. Both times, the key battleground has been steel, and lobbyists have been in the thick of it. However, one would have to go back almost four decades, to 1981 in fact, to find another example […]

THE 2020 NORTH STAR This March will mark ten years since President Obama gave his first major speech about education. In this speech, President Obama referenced the North Star goal for his education policy: that by the year 2020 the United States would once again lead the world in terms of the proportion of young […]

Egypt begins its Year of Education with an ambitious initiative in partnership with Japan that could shift Egypt away from its test-centric education model. Yet, critics worry about the emphasis on conformity and group cohesion in the new curriculum.

BY DENNIS FUNES “Students like YOU end up working rather than going to college.” As a young male of color at a middle school in the Los Angeles School District, a teacher had already predicted my future, or so he thought. Fortunately, I had positive role models, such as my father and my Algebra teacher, […]

BY CHRIS GEARY As a former traditional public middle school math teacher and charter high school history teacher, it is clear that the question “are charter schools good or bad?” cannot be answered as simply as anyone would like. Before diving into the implications, it is worth defining what charter schools actually are. Essentially, a […]

BY ABEL MCDANIELS Last month, teachers from Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest school system, went on strike for nine days. Among their demands were community schools. A community school intentionally organizes school and community resources to support student success. These schools stay open well beyond 3pm, the typical end to a […]

‘Migrant workers’ is the typical term used to describe migrants who work in Singapore. But they are far more than just workers defined by their labour. Theophilus Kwek argues that we should move beyond the simple trope of ‘migrant workers’ in our discourse on migrant issues, as a first step to seeing them as people whose lives are just as full and fraught as our own, and treating them accordingly.

BY STEVEN OLENDER Julian Castro championed an ambitious expansion of public education while announcing his 2020 presidential bid by advocating for universal Pre-K. His plan, “Pre-K for the USA,” is likely an extension of his Pre-K 4 SA program which works to make high-quality, full-day Pre-K available to all four-year-olds in San Antonio. Pre-K for […]

Migrant workers are all too often shut out from avenues to express their issues and concerns for public discussion. In this op-ed, Zakir Hossain Khokan tells us about the issues he has faced as a migrant working in Singapore, and what solutions might look like.

Golden Mile Complex is a Brutalist building facing potential demolition after its owners agreed to a collective sale attempt – much to the dismay of many in Singapore. Most news coverage, however, focuses on its architectural importance to Singapore’s heritage. But it plays an important social role, too, for Thai migrants. In this long-form research paper, Al Lim explores Golden Mile, and investigates the effect of its potential destruction on the Thai migrant community in Singapore.