Are International schools or local schools more beneficial?

Class size
When compared to local schools, international schools have smaller class sizes, therefore enabling a better student-teacher ratio, which in turn ensures individual attention to the students’ developmental needs. The smaller class sizes also means a better access to facilities. The Local schools have larger class sizes and the campus is sometimes cramped, facilities have to be shared among the large pool. In general, poor student–teacher ratio affects the relationship between the students and teachers. Often the students at the local schools have to fend for themselves, the teachers also have to tackle the challenge of handling an over sized class thus resulting in undue stress that affects their productivity.

Heterogeneous Class
International schools being open to all nationalities admit students from different linguistic background. Second language students at the international schools come from various educational backgrounds. The students are not necessarily from the higher end of the aptitude scale but are generally placed in the same class rooms. The teachers have to strike a balance in their teaching style so as to enable a progressive learning environment for all students. High performing students when placed along with average students may find the teaching system to be lagging, or may start feeling overconfident and eventually slide down the performance scale. On the other hand, the second language students and students with learning disabilities in spite of receiving special attention and assistance may feel pressurized amidst high performing students. Many international schools in Singapore split students into separate groups based on their language skills in order to address this issue. Singapore Local schools take in students of similar aptitude because admissions are based on merit, so students of matching abilities are grouped in a school. This enables the schools to implement special teaching techniques aimed at improving the child’s performance. Devoid of the pressure of high performing peers, the under-performing students often scale up their performance. At the same time higher aptitude students are given the opportunity to aspire for higher goals by setting competitive benchmarks.

Cost Factor
The fee is the most distinctive difference between the local and international schools. The international schools charge exorbitant fees. Parents who have the privilege of comprehensive relocation package may not feel the pinch, while the parents who pay out of their pockets, tend to be anxious of the results and performance of their kids. This will result in undue pressure on the child and may also affect their performance. The local schools charge higher fees for the foreign students however it is far more competitive than those charged by the international schools in Singapore.

Pedagogy & Peer Group
International schools sport an atypical informal atmosphere, fostering a friendly relationship between students and teachers while the local schools adorn a formal atmosphere. Many Asian expatriates find the informal environment in the international schools a little alien to their culture, but gradually warm up to the atmosphere, while the western expatriate children will feel a similar initial discomfort when put in a local school. The international schools are not exam oriented and encourage self learning and research geared towards nurturing critical and independent thinking while building the strength of character. The local schools are more focused on exams and assessments and give lots of homework but efforts are now being taken to shift away from this approach. This is being done without compromising on the strength of the fundamental education. In Singapore's international schools, the students come from affluent families, so there is not much of diversity in terms of status. So children tend to grow up without an understanding of the social disparities and at times may tend to become inconsiderate. To counter this issue, schools attempt to enlighten their students through community services and social education. Children from all walks of life come together in local schools thus they get to know the social nuances and also learn to appreciate and adapt to reality. Children of minority nationalities tend to imitate the culture of the dominant nationalities in international schools and it is the case in local schools as well. This may cause dispute between children and their parents who tend to preserve their cultural identity. The demands of children to keep up to their peers may cause dissension in the family.

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Schools in Singapore:

Tanjong Katong Primary School
Tanjong Katong Primary School is one such school that has a high number of International students, with 1700 international students coming from 39 different countries in the year 2007. The parents of these international students expressed that the main reason that they send their children to the local primary school is due to the lower school fees as compared to International schools.

Nanyang Primary School ( Autonomous School)
Nanyang Primary School is a school not run by the government of Singapre. However, it receives aid from the government. In Nanyang Primary School, the teachers adopt different methods of teaching for different subjects. For example, toys@work is a method adopted to teach science. Toys@Work is a unique Programme in Nanyang for the teaching and learning of Science through the use of toys. It is also a Multiple Intelligences teaching strategy that our Science teachers are expected to employ as there are designated Toys@Work activities to be completed for each level in a year. These lessons enable the pupils to have hands-on experience in deriving Scientific concepts to be covered in the syllabus by playing with toys. They also get the opportunity to design and create their own toys to demonstrate the same concept learnt, hence allowing them to also display their creativity.

The Math instructional programme of Nanyang Primary School also focuses on experiential learning where students take part in programmes like Maths Trail, Hands-on Mania, Problem based task and Math Olympiad(for selected students) throughout their six years in the school.
For the two other subjects like English and Chinese, the school too adopts similar methods to teach their students, concentrating more on experiential and holistic education.

These methods have been proved to be effective as Nanyang Primary School has been producing top students for the Primary School Leaving Examinations ( PSLE). Wee Yen Jean was the top scorer of PSLE in 2007 with a score of 287. In other years the school may not have produced the top scorer for the year, but statistics show that students from Nanyang Primary School generally perform better as compared to other primary schools.

SJI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (Private School)
SJI International School uses a combination of teaching methods in their school. Examples of methods are didactic, thinking and processing through paper exercises, research and research papers, group work, individual oral, role playing, experimental and experiential. However, SJI intends to focus on experiential learning. Experiential education involves learning through an experience in the fullest sense of the word and can lead to a remarkable enhancement in self-esteem. It should occur within a context that takes a student out of a personal zone of comfort (eg. An expedition or a service placement) and offers a substantial challenge, ideally physical, intellectual and psychological, the achievement of which will yield great satisfaction. The challenge generates a heightened sense of awareness and interest as well as offering a context rich in learning opportunities, involving the individual disciplines, but essentially cross curricular and holistic. A skilled teacher can empower the student to learn from every facet of the experience without reducing spontaneity and a sense of personal freedom. Experiential education should be driven by the inherent power of a well-designed and substantial challenge and not fine-tuned. The teacher should be the imaginative creator behind the project, not an omnipresent supervisor.

Conclusion
While local schools and international schools both have their merits and demerits, it ultimately depends on the personal family’s situation, the child’s adaptability and family’s financial resilience could play the deciding role whether to send one’s child to a local school or international school.