ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the indigenous influences on the education systems in Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. It introduces the concept of educational harmonisation that has its origins in Confucianism. This is followed by an account of how educational harmonisation is put to use by the education authorities in Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong through the strategy of decentralised centralism. With "harmony" as the cornerstone, educational harmonisation seeks to find the equilibrium among discrete or opposing parts, and consequently bring about a new integrated whole. The chapter proposes an East Asian Educational Model (EAEM) based on the patterns observed from Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. A pedagogy that bears witness to educational harmonisation in Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong is the Teacher-Directed, Student-Engaged (TDSE) approach. As for assessment, educators in Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong strive to harmonise Assessment for Learning (AfL) and Assessment of Learning (AoL).