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EDU10004
AU
Swinburne University of Technology
“Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.” – Rosalind Franklin made a very accurate statement that highlighted the significance of science for the existence of all kinds. Over the period of the 21st century, the advancement in the field of science has substantially expanded human understanding of matters, the Earth, the universe, and much more (UNESCO). What has been found by scientists around the world recently have made many miracles that were believed to be impossible in the past become true. Science exists in infinite forms from a small single atom that makes up every single living creature to the existence of the massive universe. What has been discovered by humankind in science is only a tiny grain of sand on the massive seashore. Regardless of the limited knowledge in science, human beings have achieved wonders with what has been discovered. There is still a lot of potential for development in the future as people have realised the significance of science in securing human existence. Countries see the advancement in science as effective protection for national security and economic expansion.
Over the years, the importance of science has enhanced a lot in different countries irrespective of the location of the world. The main reason for getting the higher importance of the science subjects is associated with the fact that the pace of the scientific research has enhanced a lot and it has associated with the activities of daily lives as well. It is very important to mention the fact that more people are now engaging in science related topics and enhanced interests of the people in the science-related subjects also endorse the importance of the science subjects as well. Science subject is based on the cause-and-effect relationships and thus, one can easily understand any underlying causes of the disease conditions. Moreover, the cause-effect relationship behind any issue also encourages the general people to grow interests in science subjects as well. In another word, it can be stated that science is everywhere in society and for example, it can be stated that even the grocery shop owners have a basic understanding of science. However, many studies have suggested that the teaching of science in school is commonly viewed as theoretical and irrelevant to reality (Johnson-Glenberg and Megowan-Romanowicz 2017). There are a lot of facts that students are required to memorise in order to pass their tests or exams. Students feel pressured to pass and earn good grades instead of motivated to understand science. Furthermore, in most countries’ curricula, science is broken up into distinct subjects such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Each subject is often taught by a different teacher who was also trained in the same curriculum system. It is then not surprising that students are not able to make any connection between what they have learned in a science classroom and real life. Gradually, science is widely acknowledged by most people to be one of the most challenging subjects in school (Wittmann 2021).
Education has always been an important sector of all countries. The education system of a country depends deeply on its culture and values. Along with the development of globalisation, people began to move from countries to countries for different purposes, and there (begins) a need to standardise knowledge delivered in school to prepare students to become global citizens in the future. For that reason, standardised tests are introduced as the main tool to evaluate the knowledge of students regardless of their nationality and compare the effectiveness of different education systems around the world. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was initiated by the OECD in 1997 and first administered in 2000 (OECD FAQ). The PISA-based test takes place every 3 years and it assesses 15-year-old students’ abilities in three domains: reading, mathematic, and science literacy (OECD) (Lau 2009). These skills are believed to be critical for students to cope with real-life challenges as they come closer to the end of their compulsory education. The term ‘literacy’ refers to a broad meaning of students’ mastery in “knowledge and skills” (Cresswell, 2004, p.1). There are more and more countries that have their students take the PISA assessment because it provides them with a reliable source of data to analyse and compare their students’ performance with other countries. In order to maintain the fairness and validity of the assessment among participating members, a board of professionals and elites in each domain are formed to build the assessment items. In addition, all items on the assessment are critically experimented with across all countries to eliminate the existence of any possible cultural and geographical biases (Cresswell, 2004). At the moment, there are 80 countries participate with. PISA is considered as one of the biggest international assessments for students and a pivotal indicator of the quality of a country’s education (Tasaki 2017). The result from this standardised test has a significant influence on participating country’s education policies and direction for future education. Despite the popularity in the use of PISA-based Test, many pieces of literature question the validity of its results and its application in alternating educational policies. Although there have been a lot of debates on the importance of PISA, it is still a valid and useful tool for authorities to reflect on in order to make positive adjustments to improve the quality of their education (Tasaki 2017).
Introduction of Australia and Singapore current PISA rankings
Both Australia and Singapore are known to have one of the best education systems in the world. It is a dream comes true for many students all over the world to be able to study abroad in Australia or Singapore. The quality of the education system is illustrated through the performance of their students on international tests and competitions (Gleason 2016). Both countries have students participate in PISA-based test and their students perform much better than the average of students among participating countries. However, when looking at the performance of the country itself, it is worthy to note that while Singapore is steadily maintaining high performance, Australia is conversely falling behind (Rutkowski 2015).The fact that Australia has more experience with PISA-based test since it had taken part in the test since 2000, while Singapore just started to take part in the test in 2009. Despite the difference in the number of years of participation, Singapore is outperforming not just Australia but the majority of countries in PISA results. In the most recent PISA in 2018, Singapore ranked 2nd in science and also got 2nd place overall out of 77 countries that participated (Tasaki 2017). Looking at the results since 2009, Singapore has shown steady improvement in its science scores over time
According to the graph, not only is the proportion of students performing at Level 5 or 6 increases by 10% between 2009 and 2018, the performance of lowest-achieving students drops 2.5%. This data shows a significant positive development in the ability of Singaporean students in science understandings, and it also proves the appropriate direction of the country’s educational changes and renovation, particularly in science education.
In contrast to Singapore, Australia is witnessing a plunge in its students’ performance in science, as illustrated through the PISA results over the years. Regardless of the fact that Australia has been one of the first countries to participate in the PISA science survey since 2006, its results are not indicating any improvement. On the contrary, the trend shows a substantial decline.
Unlike Singapore, the proportion of Australian students performing at Level 5 or 6 is shrinking while the proportion of lowest-achieving students is increasing. Based on the data given in Figure 2, it is clear that the score in science for 15-year-old Australian students is dropping more and more over the years. Many research studies, articles, and government speeches have emphasised the severity of this issue and its consequences on the future development of Australia. They are raising the concern that as the country’s young generations are failing in understanding science and its application in real life, the Australian economy will be severely damaged as the result of the lack of capable human resources, especially in science (Nakata 2011). The study of Treagust et al. (2015) reported that the lack of science education among the students is also associated with the lower level of qualifications that teachers require to nurture the quality of the teachers and better quality teachers can contribute to science education in Australia as well.
In response to the current situation of science education in Australia, this paper will present a comparative analysis of science education between Singapore and Australia with an attempt to understand the root causes of the Australian students in science. Later, the paper will analyse to offer some viable recommendations that might potentially have positive impacts on the situation in Australia.
Encompassing comparison ‘places different instances at various locations within the same system, on the way to explaining their characteristics as a function of their varying relationships to the system as a whole’ (Tilly, 1984, p. 83).
In a knowledge-based global economy, the trailing average scores in international tests, the large achievement gaps between students with different backgrounds, and the decreasing number of science students all constitute a ‘‘national concern.’’ Many countries have recognised the need to reshape and realign their educational policies in order to equip their citizens with the necessary knowledge and skills in the 21st century including Singapore and Australia.
After gaining independence on August 9, 1965 (the Republic of Singapore, 1965), Singapore has continually impressed the rest of the world for its rapid and innovative development. Even though the small city-state only spread on an area of 719 km2 with a population of 5.7 million, it has managed to become one of the top-ranked nations worldwide in terms of wellbeing, along with low unemployment, a high GDP per capita, and higher expectancy of life (Worlddata.info 2021). The successes that Singapore has obtained today is inseparable from its accomplishment in the educational sector. It is no doubt that the education system in Singapore is one of the best in the world as their students have regularly achieved top positions on international tests and competitions. With a good reputation for the education system, Singapore has attracted many international students to come and study (Gomes 2017). Even though Singapore is a small city-state, it has proven itself to be on the same horizon as many other developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
One of the most important forces that drive the country towards the direction of investing heavily in the development of education is its geographical characteristics. First of all, Singapore is located at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. This pivotal location has made the country become one of the most favourite places of trade not only for the Asian region but worldwide.
At the present, Singapore owns one of the largest trading ports in the world. As the world’s busiest container transhipment hub, Singapore has to invest greatly in machinery and modern technology that would help them in accommodating all the required components. In addition to this, Singapore’s strategy of application of an open trading system that was only imposing tariffs on six tariff lines has made itself clear its intention for inviting all countries to continue their trade in Singapore (Freund, Moran and Oliver 2016). Despite the huge advantage in its geographical location for trade, Singapore has one major disadvantage that requires the country to further invest in education which is its limitation in size. Singapore is a very small island, also known as a city-state. Its territory is a collection of one main island and about 63 surrounding islands and islets (Tan 2017). Due to the limited area of land, the country has very few natural resources. As a result, Singapore mostly relies on its human capital as the main source of revenue for the country. All policies aim to develop a skilled workforce that would fulfil the need of the economy. One of the main indicators that the Singapore government highly concentrates on education is through government expenditure on education. Public funds are allocated efficiently and precisely to increase the speed of expected outcomes. There was a significant increase in government spending on education from $7.5 billion in 2007 to $12.83 billion in 2019 (Ministry of Finance 2020). The amount invested in education was almost doubled after 11 years.
The largest government expenditure is on national security and defence. Singapore acknowledges the importance of education as its spending on education is the second-largest spending that accounts for 20% of total government expenditure in 2010. Witnessing the high return on their spending in education and the great performance of their students, the Singapore government believes the expenditure that has been made to enhance the education sector is an essential and proper investment for the country’s future. The fig.3 shows that the country had an overall exponential growth in the field of education expenditure. In the last three years showed in fig.3, approximately more than $12 million had been allotted by the government (Data.gov.sg 2021).
In order to understand how Singapore has achieved great successes in their educational results, it is important to look into its education system. The education system is centralised with the Ministry of Education (MOE) as the only government office that overlooks and manages the curriculum for the whole country (Ministry of Finance 2020). As Singapore highly prioritise the outcome of its human capital to serve the economy, the MOE is responsible for building a curriculum that helps students acquire skills to fulfil the demand of the economy timely and assists them in their long-term learning journey (Ministry of Finance 2020). The MOE is in charge of developing policies that meet the nation’s vision, while the NIE provides training for pre-service teachers and carries out research that will enhance the development and execution of policies. Schools are the implementers of policies. All parties work closely with one another to inform and identify potential adjustments (Ministry of Education 2021).
The importance of the English language in the case of science education was established by the study of Sepyanda (2017). The study stated that the importance of English and it was reported that being an international language, the language may make feel the students of foreign countries learn it easily and they can easily learn this language at their school level as well. In this context, it can be stated that the students also have greater interests in the learning of the language in their elementary level education as well. Moreover, due to the immense popularity of the English language, the language is generally used in various activities of daily life including the delivery of science education. On the contrary to the importance of the English language in science education, the study of Ramírez-Castañeda (2020) reported the disadvantages of the English languages in publishing scientific papers. The study reported that most of the scientific papers are published in English that is almost 978 per cent of publication are in English. The dominance of the English language in the scientific literature enhances the costs of the publication as the publication must be translated into the other local languages. Considering the difficulties of the English language in the science publication will damage the use of the local languages in science education. Henceforth, the researchers recommended using the multilingual approach in the case of the scientific article publication which will eventually promote language diversity in the field of science education. The common language English helped reduced the barriers of language in science education which helps the international students as well reading science in both these two countries.
The above findings of the current research it can be stated that in the development of science education, the role of the teachers can not be mitigated or overlooked and in this context, the study of Oliveira et al. (2019) can be mentioned. The study reported that the teachers must be prepared for delivering the science education to the students and in order to give proper education related to the science subjects the teachers must have succinct knowledge on the subjects which will eventually make them confident about the subjects as well. The structural knowledge of the subjects will allow them to understand the scientific arguments. Apart from that the linguistic knowledge of the teachers also plays a crucial role in delivering science education to the students. Another aspect of the teachers’ role is associated with their understanding of the scientific languages as science education has different vocabularies and technical terms. These findings were also supported by the study of Seah (2016) as in this study the researchers also reported about the importance of teachers’ understanding of the scientific terms and knowledge which implies the teachers’ role in science education. In this study, the researchers included interview data of the 9 participants for performing the qualitative study. The study result showed that the students faced difficulties related to the scientific languages and topic and the teachers are aware of the barriers of the scientific knowledge and language and so the study suggested the importance of the teachers’ education in delivering science education. Therefore, for the two countries, it is easy to understand the fact that for improving science education the education of the teachers must be focused on.
From the comparative analysis of the education system of Singapore and Australia, t can be stated that a centralised approach towards the education system can improve the overall quality of the science education system of these two countries. This idea of centralization in the science education system is also supported by various researchers. In this regard, the findings of Alhamad and Aladwan (2019) can be mentioned. The study mentioned the importance of the centralised management system in the university situated in Tehran. The study reported that the centralised system could impact the financial condition of the students, curriculum designing of the course, management of the education system. Moreover, the centralised system also affects the learning process of the students as well. In this study, the researchers performed both the quantitative and qualitative study to assess the importance of the centralised and decentralised approach in the education system at the university level. Therefore, the study identified that the centralised approach at the university level improves systematic compliance through the development of the procedures and policies, development and maintenance of the quality of the education system structure. Along with this, it was reported that the centralised approach ensured uniformity in the education system in terms of programmes or curriculum designing, quality and activities. Moreover, the decentralised approach also maintained the incorporation of the innovation and knowledge sharing processes which eventually helps to improves the overall science education system. The more centralised approach in the science education system of Singapore compared to Australia also helped Singapore to score higher in the PISA tests as mentioned earlier in this current study. This study finding was also supported by the study of Huang and Asghar (2016), as the researchers reported that the centralised approach towards the science education system also helps the education-related policymakers for improving science education in Taiwan. The study reported that the centralised approach used by the policymakers will eventually help them to make the decision regarding the implementation of the new policies in the local educational institutions. However, the researchers also reported the fact that the policymakers also had identified a few barriers regarding the utilization of the centralized approach such as lack of cultural consideration during the policymaking process. Moreover, it was also reported that the centralised approaches in the education system allow the policymakers to create inquiry-based and learner-centred approaches in the science education system.
Another finding of the comparative analysis showed the importance of the education pathways for the pre-service teachers for developing science education. It is stated that the education pathways play a significant role in improving the process of science education. In this context, the study findings of Paige, Bentley and Dobson (2016) can be mentioned. In this study, the researchers discussed the use of the educational tool for science and mathematics and it is basically a digital literacy and educational tool for assessing the curriculum of science. The study assessed the importance of the education pathways for the pre service teachers for the science education. The study revealed that the use of the digital literacy tool improves the conceptual understandings of the science subjects which eventually improves their quality of teaching and along with this it also affects the learning process of the students as well. Hence, the study concluded that the better understanding of the science subjects helps the teachers to improve their teaching and so it can be stated that the pre service education pathways are very important for the teachers as well. The use of the technology-based pathways for preparing the pre service teachers is also supported by the study of Admiraal et al. (2017). In this study the researchers stated that the quality of the teachers’ education program is very essential for the delivery of better quality science education and hence, it can be stated that the infusion of technology in the pathways of the teachers’ education of the pre service teachers would eventually improves the teaching process and quality of science education. The study result showed that the infusion of the technology based education improved the technological, content based and pedagogical knowledge of the teachers as well. In another study by Heo and Chun (2016) the researchers stated that the mobile based pathways for the pre service teachers. In this study the researchers reported about the process of flipped learning method as a part of the pathways for the pre service teachers’ learning. The study result revealed that this type of learning for the pre service teachers improves the learning of the students and they had greater interest regarding the academic performances of the students. On the other hand, contradicting to the technology use, video analysis for the pre service teachers also had gained a lot of acceptance for improving the science knowledge level of the students as the better understanding of the teachers only can improve the science education quality of the students and the overall analytical power of the students. The study involved the pre service teachers in the video analysis program for improving the analysis power of the students enrolled in science education as a better analysis of the students helps the teachers to improve their teaching process as a whole. The study aimed to assess the analytical power of the teachers in terms of observing and interpreting the activities of the students by using the video analysis and this pathway for the pre service teachers is very essential as it improves the analytical power of the pre service teachers as well. The study result reported that the use of the video analysis method as a pathway for the pre service teachers improved the capacity of the conceptualizing learning process and the teaching skills for the science subjects which indicated the effectiveness of this particular pathway for the pre service teachers.
On the other hand, the study of ÇINAR et al. (2016) reported the effectiveness of another pathway named STEM for the pre service teachers in the science education. The study assessed the effectiveness of this education pathway on the science teachers and included 32 pre-service science teachers in their study. As a part of the study the science teachers were enrolled in the pre service education program based on STEM approach and for assessing the effect the researchers had collected the pre and post intervention data of the teachers by using the STEM-WAT and STEM surveys. The collected data were analysed by using the descriptive analysis method. The study result reported that the implementation of the STEM program improves the teaching quality of the teachers while teaching the science subjects. Moreover, the researchers also reported that the use of the proper pathways for the pre service teachers is associated with the individual and social development which eventually improves the quality of the science education. So, it can be stated that the findings of this paper are similar with the current study analysing the science education system of Singapore and Australia.
Herranen and Aksela (2019) reported that the use of the inquiry-based method will improve the science education process. In this systematic review study, the researchers used 30 articles to perform the review and the researchers used a deductive approach for analyzing the studies. The current study showed that the use of the inquiry-based learning approach would eventually improves the analytical powers of the students as in this approach the students are encouraged to raise queries during their study process and hence the student centred learning is encouraged through using this approach. Moreover, the study also reported the association in between the inquiry-based learning and the motivation of the students towards the learning process. The association in between the inquiry-based learning process and the better critical thinking ability of the students. The study of Duran and Dökme (2016) reported that the science and technology-based learning aligned with the inquiry-based learning enhanced the critical thinking ability of the students. The intervention group of the study showed better critical analysis capacity compared to the control group students in terms of better skills in the science and technology courses. Therefore, it was reported that the inquiry-based learning is very essential for the science education of the students. Ünlü and Dökme (2020) reported the importance of the inquiry-based learning in case of the science education and the study result showed that the students’ science achievements and the skills of scientific analysis eventually enhanced after the implementation of the inquiry-based learning process and in case of both the countries Australia and Singapore the inquiry-based learning method help the countries to improve their science education system along with the advancement of time.
The comparative analysis of two countries’ science education system revealed that the science curriculum plays a significant impact on the overall improvement of the science education system. In this context, it can be stated that the curriculum materials play a key conceptual role for improving the science education by helping the science teachers and along with this a better curriculum helps the teachers in their understanding so that they can also contribute to the process of designing a better curriculum. Chowdhury (2016) also highlighted the importance of the curriculum and course materials for improving the knowledge related to the science and overall science education. In this study, the researchers stated about the incorporation of the science and technology-based education in the science education and it improved the science education and science teaching process as well. Therefore, the researchers reported that the integration of the Science-Technology-Society (STS), Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE) and Socio-Scientific-Issues (SSI) may improve the development of technological and scientific literacies among the students and it eventually contributes to the re-emergence of values in science education. Another delphi study by Charro (2021) also reported the role of the curriculum for developing the scientific knowledge of the students in the secondary schools of Spain and hence, it can be stated that the curriculum also improved the science education in both the countries.
Apart from that, the role of the students’ attitude towards the improvement of the science education is also identified in the comparative analysis of the science education system of the two countries. The study of Wan and Lee (2017) explored the role of the students’ attitudes in improving the science education. In this study, the researchers reported that there were 360 students of class 9 in this study as subject population. The study result showed that the male students of this study reported more positive attitudes towards the improvement of the science education in terms of five domains such as future participation, learning the science inside and outside of the classrooms and the self-concept of the science. The school bands of the current study also reported to play significant roles in deciding the students’ attitudes towards the science education. The study of Juan et al. (2020) identified the fact that the enjoyment of the students for learning science is also associated with the development of the science education in any country. The study result reported that the attitudes towards the science learning of the students will eventually improves the science literacy. In this study the researchers reported that enjoyment of the students influences their science learning attitudes and behaviors and the African students had greater enjoyment and understanding about the science education. Moreover, the researchers also reported that the positive experiences towards the science education improve their desire for reading science and eventually improves the behaviors of the students towards the improvement of the science education. In another study by Cermik, and Fenli-Aktan (2020), the researchers contradicted the only role of the student’s attitudes towards the development of the science education. In this study, the researchers reported that the students’ attitude is not solely dependent on the development of the science education rather the gender of the students is also associated with the attitudes of the students towards the science education. Along with this, the current study also reported that the students following the scientific journal every month have positive attitudes towards the science education and hence the study reported that there was not any association in between the scientific attitudes and the education level and occupational status of the parents of the students. Along with this, the type of school that is the private school or government school also had association along with the science education system.
Not only the attitudes of the students, but the parent’s attitudes are also essential for the science education as identified in the comparative analysis process. In this context, it can be stated that the parents’ perception in relation to science education is more profound and well explained than in Australia. This is because the aspect is not explored in a vivid manner that led to a lack of evidence to show the difference in this case. It can be stated that the parents in Singapore have a high opinion related to science education because they are aware that the subject has the power to change society. On the other hand, Australian parent is of low opinion in relation to science education as they feel that it is not relevant in nature. In this context, the study findings of the Chi et al. (2017) can be mentioned as in this study the researchers identified the importance of the parents’ attitudes, occupation on the science education of the students. The study result reported that the parents’ occupation and their capability of understanding the science subjects are associated with the science education of the students. Hence, it can be stated that the above finding is consistent with the current study that revealed the better opinion of the Singaporean parents towards the science education compared to the Australian parents.
The role of the science culture in the development of the science education cannot be overlooked. In this context, it can be stated that a community with culture of science education automatically impacts the overall science education program of the country. The study of Darling-Hammond et al. (2020) reported that the science and education culture help to improve the overall education practice and science education. Considering the above comparative analysis, although science culture has a greater impact on the development of the science education development, still Singapore showed a better performance in the development of the science education in spite of being an infant in terms of developing the science culture in the society as a whole. However, it is very important to mention the fact that the although Australia had a better science culture practice in the society theoretically still, they are far behind from the people and culture of Singapore in terms of parents’ attitude towards science education, beliefs and intention of the students towards the science education, greater expectations of the society that impacted the Australian science education system in a negative manner. Although, Australia had better science curriculum compared to the Singapore, still other factors associated with the development of the science education drags Australia behind from Singapore in terms of development of the science education.
The paper discussed about the educational system of Singapore and Australia by performing a comparative analysis. It has been evident that the significant of science education is found to be different in different countries. However, the primary reason for gaining vast importance is that these subjects are highly associated with the advancement of science research in various country and its ultimately or association in daily life. It has been reported that both Singapore and Australia is well known for the practice of best education system in the World where the quality of education is found to be analysed by the various performance internationally based tests and competitions. Both the countries are found to participant in PISA-test and the performance level is much high in comparison to other countries. However, it has been found that the performance level is steady and well-maintained in Singapore but the performance level is found to drop in Australia and these might occur due to several factors such as education pathway, parents’ role, student’s attitude and belief and lack of proper science culture. The recent data about the PISA examination in 2018 reported that, Singapore ranked 2nd in science, and also got 2nd place overall out of 77 countries participated. Similarly, it has been found that in Australia, the performance level is found to be dropped. The sole reason which is found to drive and uphold the education level is the higher level of investment on the development of education whereas, its location is also found to be one of the prime factors which upholds the education level. The education system of Singapore is within centralized Ministry of Education (MOE) where the government is found to look and manage towards the curriculum which is carried out throughout. The MOE is in charge of developing policies that meet the nation’s vision, while the NIE provides training for pre-service teachers and carries out research that will enhance the development and execution of policies and the schools are found to implement such policies which helps in achieving the common goals. However, it has been found that there are few drawbacks as well which is found to impact the Singapore’s educational system such as emphasizing rote-learning and high-stakes exams over a pedagogy teaching creative thinking which is found to impact the school culture and emotional and mental level of students. However, educational gap due to race and financial status is found to impact the educational system of Singapore.
On the other hand, the educational system in Australia was found to be one of the promising destinations for many students all over the World. There exists a difference in education system in Australia where the major cities student was found to be more familiar with special subjects, job opportunities and even modern courses and this also occurred due to lack of equal education distribution, lack of efficient status and location. Science is listed as one of eight key learning areas in the Australian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 10. The science curriculum is designed not only to help students develop understanding of important science concepts and processes, but also gain knowledge about science applications in their lives, culture, and society (ACARA). However, there exist few reasons which resulted in drawback of the science education in Australia such as negative attitude which is found among maximum student in Australia due to traditional practice, loss of interest in science in various age group which results in drawback in career. The shortage of science-qualified faculty is another reason which is found to impact the educational system in Australia. Thus, Australia is facing problems associated with the frequent change in their implementations. Change fatigue is identified as one of the most prominent challenge to the Australian educational agenda.
The study is done with the method of comparative analysis of the two educational system such as Australia and Singapore. The common similar themes which was found after the analysis is English as a common language, Centralisation of the educational system, Role of teacher, Education pathways for pre-service teacher, inquiry based curriculum. The difference which is found on the basis of comparative analysis are Curriculum structure, Society expectation, Parent’s attitude and belief, student belief and attitude, science culture. Thus, these themes clearly helped in determining the aim of the research which aimed at determining which educational system is more advanced in term of science Singapore or Australia.
Science culture, it has been found that Singapore is much more advanced in term of science and technology. The science education which is followed in Singapore involves the training of mind such as developing up skills in meeting and evaluating facts, developing a competence in investigation singularities and difficulties, and educating balanced and original thinking. The curriculum is equally designed for the children which helped in developing creativity and critical thinking. The education is much more emphasised upon mathematics, technologies and technical learning which helps the student to establish themselves in industrial field in future. Similarly, the science culture is found to lack in Australia as the educational system is not equal for all the region. Inequalities in education is found in major cities and remote Indigenous area which results in drawback in the overall development of the country. Thus, in terms of science culture the Singapore population is much more advanced in technology and science in comparison to Australia which might be due to cultural and traditional barrier.
Student’s belief and attitude, it can be stated from the comparative analysis that Australia’s student was found to have a high view about science education in comparison to Singapore’s students. The sole reason behind this might be the education system. Singapore educational system is more motivated to hard work and attaining a good result in the examination which results in high burden and pressure among students developing emotional and mental distress. On the other hand, in Australia, the science teaching is further connected to action, critical thinking and research-based, which help in developing better critical thinking and rational behaviour and thus, the application of practical knowledge and skill growth helps in further development in the respective field of work. Thus, it can be stated that the student’s attitude and belief is much stronger among Australian students in comparison to Singapore.
Education pathway for pre-service teachers is found to be similar, in this respect as the educational pathway focuses upon development of learning and professional growth. However, it has been found that there exists lack of trained teachers in Australia which impacts the educational system as well. The pre-service teaching must consent of proper societal reflection, professional practice, skills, knowledge, empathy and leadership. A proper pre-service internship can be implemented in both the countries which will help in determining the drawbacks in teaching education, enhanced knowledge and increase the quality of teaching as well. In Australia, the legal accountability for education, including the preparation of teachers, lies with the six States and two Territory governments. Thus, education pathway can be improved by implementing teaching internship program in both the countries which will help in addressing the challenges faced by both the teacher and the learners. The educator will gain a practical experience in handling both traditional and science education which will help in relaxing the environment of teaching. Thus, the system must implement both the traditional and science education which will help in developing critical thinking and analytical power within student. It is found that there exists lack of interest in science education among the Australian student and this can be addressed by implementing better education pathway.
Other themes which were found in the comparative analysis are society expectation, curriculum and parent’s attitude and belief. In terms of curriculum, it can be concluded that the Australian curriculum is much more advanced due to implementation of reforms while in Singapore the educational system is traditional in nature which is one of the major differences which hinders science education. Similarly, the science education and societal expectation was also found to vary which is the Australian society expectation is satisfactory as it was developed much more whereas the science culture was developed recently in Singapore and it has long- way to develop and progress. It can also be concluded that in Singapore there exist high opinion related to science education among parents and the opinion is low among Australian parents.
Thus, this research will be helpful in determining the drawback of both the educational system in Australia and Singapore and further development might take place. The educational system might implement internship training or programs for the teachers for both the countries which will help in delivering an effective environment for science learning. The educational system must be equally distributed in both the major cities and remote areas of Australia which will result in more sustainable development. Similarly, change in examination pattern or learning patter must be implemented in Singapore which will reduce burden among children and will help in developing rational and creative thinking.
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