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Only about half of S'pore parents ask about kids' schoolwork at least weekly, below global average: Pisa study

SINGAPORE — Students here said that their parents were less supportive of their education than their counterparts in other developed nations, with just under half saying that their parents asked about their schoolwork at least once a week, a global study has found.

Only about half of S'pore parents ask about kids' schoolwork at least weekly, below global average: Pisa study
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  • The Pisa 2022 study found Singapore 15-year-old students received less parental support with the studies compared to their global peers
  • Only 49 per cent said that their parents showed an interest in their studies at least once a week
  • On the academic results front, Singapore emerged as the top performer among 81 participating countries in reading, mathematics and science
  • However, the reading performance has dipped slightly since the previous 2018 edition

SINGAPORE — Students here said that their parents were less supportive of their education than their counterparts in other developed nations, with just under half saying that their parents asked about their schoolwork at least once a week, a global study has found.

Singapore students were also less physically active after school than the global average.

Only 22 per cent exercised or played sports four days a week after lessons were over, compared to the global average of 39 per cent. Another 29 per cent reported not exercising at all after school, higher than the global average of 20 per cent.

The findings were from this year’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), usually done every three years to measure how well 15-year-olds can solve real-life challenges with their knowledge of three domains — mathematics, science and reading. 

In results released on Tuesday (Dec 5), Singapore maintained its stellar record on the academic front, topping the global league tables in all three subjects.

Run by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the 2022 edition of the test involved 81 countries and about 690,000 15-year-old students. 

The main emphasis of Pisa 2022 was on mathematics, where most students dedicated one hour to addressing maths questions. The remaining hour was allocated to evaluating proficiency in reading, science or creative thinking. 

Another 35-minute segment asked students to respond to a questionnaire on their attitudes towards school and home life. 

The previous Pisa study was in 2018. The 2021 assessment was postponed to 2022 to capture post-Covid challenges. 

China beat Singapore in all three subjects in 2018 but the mainland did not take part in the 2022 Pisa test, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said.

In the latest Pisa test, students here fared better in science and maintained their performance in mathematics but saw a dip in reading over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The results were recorded from a sample size of 6,606 randomly selected 15-year-old students from 149 secondary schools and 15 private schools in Singapore. They took part in the study from April to May 2022.

Ms Liew Wei Li, director-general of education at MOE, said that the ministry and schools have been shifting efforts from preparing students for life in school to equipping them for “the school of life”. 

“Our students’ consistently strong performance over the past Pisa cycles, as well as their demonstrated ability to think critically and solve complex problems, are a heartening affirmation that our efforts are in the right direction,” she added. 

STRONGER FAMILY TIES, MORE ACTIVE LIFESTYLE NEEDED

Although 88 per cent of Singapore students surveyed said that they had their main meal with their parents, only 49 per cent felt that their parents showed an interest in their school work at least once a week. This was well below the OECD average of 66 per cent.

And only 47 per cent reported that their parents talked to them about any problems they faced at school at least once a week, which was below the OECD average of 57 per cent.

MOE said that parents are key partners in education. The ministry and schools will continue to work closely with them to provide better support to their children, it added. 

Most Singapore students surveyed, though, were appreciative of the good relationships they had with their teachers. 

Almost 90 per cent of Singapore students said that they received extra help in most, if not all, mathematics lessons. This figure was well above the OECD average of 70 per cent. 

And 87 per cent reported that their teachers showed an interest in their well-being, a response that was consistent across all socioeconomic groups. 

HIGHER SCORE IN SCIENCE, SLIGHT DECLINE IN READING

During the pandemic, Singapore schools switched to full home-based learning due to distancing regulations and restrictions. 

Despite the disruption in physical lessons, students continued to thrive, as Singapore’s education system emerged as the top performer in reading, mathematics and science among 81 participating countries. 

In mathematics, Singapore attained the highest mean score of 575, beating Macau (552) and Taiwan (547). Singapore’s score in Pisa 2018 was 569. 

Singapore students recorded a substantial improvement in science, racking up a mean score of 561 — 10 points more than its score of 551 in Pisa 2018. 

For science, Japan placed second (547) and Taiwan was third (543). 

In reading, Singapore achieved a mean score of 543, ahead of Ireland and Japan (516 each), as well as South Korea and Taiwan (515 each). 

Singapore’s reading score is a slight dip from its Pisa 2018 score of 549. 

In response to this, MOE said: “While our students’ performance declined slightly in reading, this is similar to peers in half of the 73 systems with trend data and may reflect the impact of a global change in reading habits.”

The ministry will continue to help students cultivate reading habits from young by working closely with schools, parents and community partners, it added.

UNDERPRIVILEGED STUDENTS AND THEIR SCORES

Pisa 2022 also reviewed the performance of students from homes with a lower socioeconomic status.

Singapore’s cohort of students from these homes got mean scores for the three subjects that were significantly higher than the mean score for OECD students of similar statuses. 

Overall, OECD students in the lower socioeconomic status attained a mean score of 434, 431, and 442 in the three respective domains. For Singapore’s cohort, the scores were 484, 515 and 504.

OECD deemed that 43 per cent of Singapore’s students were “core-skills resilient”, a term that describes the level of proficiency of underprivileged students in the three domains. These areas cover the skills students need to “participate fully” in society.

The OECD average for core-skills resilient students in the lower socioeconomic status category is 19 per cent. 

MOE said that it would enhance efforts to better support students from lower socioeconomic status homes through initiatives such as Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce (Uplift).

Uplift was launched in October 2018 to strengthen the partnership between schools and community partners to bolster support for disadvantaged students.

Related topics

Education schools OECD MOE

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