Why is creativity a problem in Singapore’s education system?

In 1965, not many expected Singapore to make it as a nation. Yet, we did, on the basis of sustained economic growth over the past half century. This economic growth has resulted from our economic competitiveness — arising from stable and strong financial institutions, a corruption-free government, and potentially most importantly, a well-educated workforce.

How has our education system made us economically competitive? Through adopting a pragmatic approach — a mentality which has pervaded most of Singaporean governance since independence. Our education system has been geared towards bringing about economic growth by arming citizens with the skills needed to create a robust and productive workforce, which can then attract large multinational corporations to base themselves in Singapore.

The importance of economic growth in our education system is further reinforced in a presentation delivered by Prof S Gopinathan, a professor at the National Institute of Education, where he pointed out that amongst Singapore’s Educational Aims is:

Economic — to transit from an entrepot economy to an individual one via export-oriented industrialisation.

It is therefore clear that Singapore’s education system is driven by a pragmatic imperative to churn out good workers who can then attract large multi-national corporations to Singapore and bring about economic growth. My belief is that economic growth can only be sustained with the development of creativity in students.

Why is creativity important?

One skill which has constantly been acknowledged as essential is creativity. Creativity is more than just being imaginative — it is characterised by the ability to see the world in new ways, make connections which may not be evident on first glance, and generate novel, innovative solutions. Creativity involves not only thinking, but also producing — this is that which distinguishes a dreamer from a doer.

A survey of 1,500 CEOs conducted by IBM showed that creativity is the number one factor for future business success — ranking higher than discipline, integrity, and vision. In an unpredictable world, being able to solve novel problems creatively is a key asset for one to be successful in the corporate world.

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.” -Albert Einstein

So — what leads to creativity? Is it innate, or can it be developed? There are no straightforward answers, but a growing body of research suggests that creativity is a skill, something which can be developed through set methods. This means that everyone has a shot at developing this increasingly essential skill, and in doing so, everyone has a shot at being more valuable economically. And with the goal of increasing one’s economic value, Singapore’s education should, in principle, attempt to nurture these skills in the students of Singapore.

Creativity amongst Singaporean students — A Reality Check

However, many indicators of creativity — thinking processes, final products, and others — suggest that Singaporeans are not as creative as we would hope them to be. The Global Innovation Index 2016 revealed that creativity was not a widespread trait among Singaporeans — in this study, Singaporeans were found to have underperformed under metrics such as trademarks and creative industry exports. Singaporeans are industrious people who could certainly being significant economic value to Singapore once this value — this is precisely what Kevin Fitzgerald argued in his 2018 opinion piece in Channel News Asia.

Why is creativity a problem in Singaporean schools? We think that there are a few issues. First, Singaporean students just don’t see the value in pursuing creative endeavours, because there aren’t many incentives to do so. Singaporean students are used to being given neatly packaged problems with neatly packaged solutions, and therefore, there is no stimulation to think outside the box, in solving more wicked problems with tough solutions. At the same time, education today is more focussed on rote learning — memorisation, intensive practice, drilling — instead of encouraging students to contend with problems which may not be as straightforward. And to add on to this, school is tiring and without energy, a student has no time to pursue passions and interests of their own, or explore ideas of their own.

Singapore’s MOE is trying. Its Applied Learning Programme was an effort at resolving this issue — it was designed to help students apply their learning to the real world, which is a step in the right direction. Also, through the adoption of technology in schools, there have been attempts to improve critical thinking and collaboration skills. At the same time, this is not sufficient given the importance of creativity today — a greater proportion of time should be invested into developing students’ creativity in school, since students don’t have the time or energy to pursue creative endeavours in their time outside of school, with tuition and extra lessons taking up much of students’ time.

What now?

The education system can improve — this could be in the form of problem-based learning modules in schools, similar to ones implemented in Finland’s education system. The role of teachers too could change, in line with what has been done with Finland, with teachers acting as facilitators rather than steering students towards set answers.

Students too can take proactive steps to be creative in their daily lives. For instance, they could consciously block off creative time to explore new ideas, with the humility to explore that which one does not know. Another article on how students can be creative will be in the pipeline!

A creative population is essential for Singapore — creativity in the workforce will enable Singapore’s economic growth to continue in spite of the challenges the global labour market experiences in the 21st century — and in order for creativity to arise in the workforce, more has to be done in the education system. We are optimistic that the robust education system of Singapore will adjust to the increasing need for creativity.