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Equity in Excellence pp 111–125Cite as

Equity and Meritocracy in Singapore

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Part of the book series: Education Innovation Series ((EDIN))

Abstract

Notions of equality and fairness in education continue to bedevil Singapore’s education system, as is the case in most other countries. Educational attainment in Singapore has often been viewed as a key means of upward social mobility, building social cohesion as well as talent development for economic ends. Questions such as how educational opportunities are distributed, as well as the reality of unequal educational outcomes, remain controversial and politically volatile. The four chapters in Section B have made clear the twin realities of inequalities in family support for schooling and unequal educational outcomes. This chapter interrogates such issues by considering the macro-level social context within which these realities may be better understood. In the process, it references the chapters on Singapore education, namely, the chapters that follow, as well as Chap. 7 in the previous section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Jason Tan

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  1. Jason Tan
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Correspondence to Jason Tan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

    Siao See Teng  & Kenneth K. Poon  & 

  2. Department of International Education and Lifelong Learning, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Maria Manzon

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Tan, J. (2019). Equity and Meritocracy in Singapore. In: Teng, S.S., Manzon, M., Poon, K.K. (eds) Equity in Excellence. Education Innovation Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2975-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2975-3_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2973-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2975-3

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