SAPPING RESOURCES? THE INEFFECTIVENESS AND INEQUALITIES OF SAP SCHOOL EDUCATION

Abstract

Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, also commonly known as 'Chinese schools', seek to develop Mandarin proficiency and inculcate Chinese culture and values (Ministry of Education, 1978). The government believes that this brings about pragmatic gain for individuals and the general society (Lee, 2012; Ong, 2019). For one, Chinese cultural capital shapes students into diligent workers and ideal citizens. It also reaps economic benefit when harnessed to build strong working ties with China (Lee, 2012), an economic powerhouse and Singapore’s largest trading partner (Enterprise Singapore, n.d.). However, the practical gain of SAP schools is ultimately only hypothetical. Thus, this thesis seeks to examine whether SAP schools effectively produce better socio-economic outcomes for its students, through comparing the outcomes of SAP school Chung Cheng High School (Main) (CCHM) and non-SAP school Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) (CCHY). Quantitative analysis revealed the lack of significant association between attending a SAP school and better socioeconomic outcomes, as measured by academic qualifications and employment type. This points to the ineffectiveness of SAP schools in producing better student outcomes, unlike what its pragmatic rhetoric promises. Its pragmatic ideology ironically allows for such ineffectiveness and inequality. Next, qualitative interviews explored why SAP schools are ineffective: SAP schools are ineffective at instilling Chinese cultural capital in students, and Chinese cultural capital appears to have little impact on socioeconomic outcomes. Social capital and class cultural capital were observed to be more influential, with class ultimately influencing socio-economic outcomes the most.