The purpose of any education system is to equip learners with the ability to live a
fulfilling and productive life. Currently, East Asia is home to seven of the top ten
education systems in the world. Despite impressive achievements, these above-
average performing systems are not resting on their accomplishments—they
continue to deepen the quality of education, tying learning to new and emerging
needs. Central to the region‘s curriculum reform is a focus on teaching and
measuring 21 st century skills.
Among countries with the strongest education systems, attention is shifting from a uniform,
teacher-centered, exam-oriented pedagogy towards diverse, student-centered learning
pathways that aim to instill capabilities for lifelong learning. This shift represents an increased
focus on 21 st century skills under three categories: 1) Learning and Innovation, 2) Digital
Literacies, and 3) Life and Career Skills.
In short, East Asia aspires for its students to know themselves, relate well with others and be
worldly as well as think creatively and independently with a sea of ubiquitous knowledge at
their fingertips.
Learning to learn: Curriculum for the 21 st century
In Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Hong Kong (China), 21 st century curricular
reforms are about doing education differently. Recognizing the fast-changing and increasingly
knowledge-based global economy, they are placing more curricular emphasis on ―learning to
learn‖ so students can develop the flexibility and adaptability to keep pace with dynamic
labor market demands.
Specifically, they have set forth new target goals, a new format for the curriculum, and
different preferred pedagogies. Countries are reducing the set curriculum. In Hong Kong, for
example, it was decreased to four key learning areas. In Japan, 30 percent of its formal
curriculum has been reduced, and in Singapore, one third of the formal curriculum has been
cut.
Among the leading education systems in the region, there is also a common shift away from
knowledge acquisition (historically based on rote memorization) toward development of
competencies (or skills). In Japan, for example, the change is manifested and framed away
from ―what do students know‖ towards ―what can they do with what they
know.‖ Examples of how this is demonstrated in classrooms include project-based activities,
problem- and theme-based integrated learning, experiential learning, and activities that
involve group-based research, debate, discussions and presentations.