Using social media data from 2018 to 2025, we show a cyclical change in polarisation between academic vs holistic mindsets towards education amongst students in Singapore.

Polarity score (mean z-score)

Singapore's education reform

Human capital development through education is one of Singapore's top priorities. Though the nation has largely achieved success in developing an education system globally renowned for its academic rigour and performance Ng, 2020, many Singaporean students are highly stressed and anxious. In Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) comparative study, 86% of Singaporean students were worried about poor grades at school, compared with the OECD average of 66%. 76% of Singapore's students were anxious about a test even if they were well prepared, compared with the OECD average of 55% Ng, 2020. At the same time, with shifting socio-economic needs of the relatively young nation, Singapore's education policies have shifted focus from educational development (1863 - 1997), economic development (1941 - 1965), social development (1941) to holistic development (1998) Wong et al., 2020.

However, despite the official policy narrative of "holistic education", the narrow mindsets of success and culture of high-stakes examinations persist. This is amplified by a strong "shadow education system" of private tuition and intense parental expectations for top academic performance Kwek et al., 2023. There is a disconnect between the education system's holistic goals and the reality of students' competitive academic goals.

Measuring education reform

To solve this, policymakers need a better way to measure the impact of education policies.

How do we measure the progress of holistic education? Is it possible to measure the shifts in mindsets of students across the entire population of Singapore? This is where sentiment analysis provides a powerful solution. By using computational methods to analyse large volumes of text - such as student feedback, online forums, and social media discourse - we can identify the underlying emotions and opinions being expressed by students Shaik et al., 2023.

Tracking these sentiments offers direct insights into student well-being and the true impact of educational policies. Such data informs more effective strategies for better development of reform policies and pedagogy, helping to create an educational environment in Singapore that is not only academically successful but also genuinely supportive of every student's holistic needs.

References

1. Kwek, D., Ho, J., & Wong, H. M. (2023). Singapore’s educational reforms toward holistic outcomes: (Un)intended consequences of policy layering. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Brief_Singapores-educational-reforms-toward-holistic-outcomes_FINAL.pdf
2. Ng, P. T. (2020). The paradoxes of student well-being in Singapore. ECNU Review of Education, 3(3), 437-451. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120935127 https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120935127
3. Shaik, T., Tao, X., Dann, C., Xie, H., Li, Y., & Galligan, L. (2023). Sentiment analysis and opinion mining on educational data: A survey. Natural Language Processing Journal, 2, 100003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlp.2022.100003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlp.2022.100003
4. Wong, H. M., Kwek, D., & Tan, K. (2020). Changing assessments and the examination culture in Singapore: A review and analysis of Singapore’s assessment policies. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 40(4), 433-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1838886 https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1838886