A Sports School In Singapore NICE TO HAVE or NEED TO HAVE

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A Sports School In Singapore-NICE TO HAVE or
NEED TO HAVE-

• Project Team Members
• Kevin Kow
• Benedict Heng
• Leong Hin Chong
• Yip Yang

Mentors Mr Yap Meen Sheng Professor Tan Tai
Yong (external mentor)
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Acknowledgements

• We would like to thank the following people
• Mr Yap Meen Sheng and Professor Tan Tai Yong, our
  mentors for their advice and guidance
• Mrs Kow, for helping to photocopy the survey
  questionnaires. I am still indebted to her for
  150/- in respect of photocopying and stationary
  costs.
• Mr. Patrick Hogan, GM of SSC for allowing us to
  conduct survey at the Singapore Swimming Club
• And all the respondents who had taken part in the
  survey.

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II Abstract
This study is to obtain new knowledge by
getting Singaporeans to think more deeply on
whether a Sports School would be nice for
Singapore vis-a-vis there is a need for Singapore
to have a Sports School. This thinking is in
line with the recommendation for change in
social, political and cultural policies contained
in a 100-page report recently submitted by the
Chairman of the Remaking Singapore Committee Mr.
Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of State for
National Development.
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Literature Review

• Singapore reviewing athlete imports programme
• In the article, Agence France Presse, December
  14, 2003 Singapore, it was reported that
  Singapores performance in international sports
  has been boosted by foreign-born players but the
  city-state is now reviewing its programme of
  importing athletes to augment the local talent
  pool.
•   With full boarding facilities, the Sports
  School hopes to strike a fine balance between
  academics and sports, breeding a new generation
  of athletes who will reduce Singapores need to
  bring in outsiders.

Sports today In the article, Physical Education,
December 23, 2003, it was reported that the
sports school is the governments latest
strategy for becoming a regional athletic
power. Singapores version of the school is
modeled after the Australian Institute of Sports
in Canberra and sports schools in Thailand,
Malaysia and New Zealand, said Gerard Wong, a
spokesman for the Singapore Sports School.
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Literature Review
A bid at mindset change in strait-laced
Singapore  In the New Straits Times, Malaysia
August 2, 2003 by Yusuan Ahmad, it was reported
that Singapore is trying to introduce a mindset
change with a different set of values.  
Singapore wants its young to take a sporting
chance In the Asia Times, July 11, 2001, Adaline
Lau reported that Singapore aims to be among the
top 10 sporting nations in Asia by 2010. In the
article, it was reported that Dr Ben Tan says it
is difficult to find Singaporeans willing to make
sacrifices in the name of sports and consider
it a proper career. Accomplished swimmer and
now managing director of Aquatic Performance Swim
School, Ang Peng Siong, also says that most
parents would think twice about wanting their
children who are sports-inclined to aim for the
Olympics.
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Literature Review
Dreams on the starting blocks In the Far Eastern
Economic Review, December 11, 2003 by Trish
Saywell, it was reported that the sports school
is the brainchild of a government panel set up in
September 2000 to find ways to develop young
athletes and the sports industry in
Singapore. China has hundreds of sports schools,
Thailand has 13 and Malaysia has 2. To fast-track
its most promising young athletes, Singapore has
recruited foreign coaches for its only sports
school and hopes in the next four years Singapore
will start reaping the rewards
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III. HYPOTHESES
Hypothesis 1 Parents play a pivotal role in
deciding whether to send their children to the
Sports School. Hypothesis 2 Pursuit of academic
excellence and sports excellence simultaneously
is feasible in the mainstream schools. Hypothesis
3 A change in mindset of Singaporeans is the most
important ingredient needed for the Sports School
to achieve its objectives over the
long-term. Hypothesis 4 The Sports School is a
good nation building tool. Hypothesis 5 The
sports school can bring about a more competitive
and dynamic sports environment in Singapore.
Hypothesis 6 A small population base is not
necessarily a hindrance for Singapore to become a
top sporting nation. Hypothesis 7 The Sports
School will reduce Singapores need to import
athletes to augment the local talent pool.
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Methodology
(a) Instrumentation To achieve the research
objectives, we employed 2 types of survey
questionnaires - student questionnaire(Yellow)
and parents
questionnaire(Green). (i) Student
Questionnaire Questions in the survey
questionnaire were structured for easy completion
and would only take a few minutes of the
students time. It consists of 16 questions on a
3-point Likert scale(Disagree,Not Sure, Agree)
and one personal response question. Respondents
were assured that their responses would be
treated in the strictest confidence and under no
circumstances would individual survey responses
be disclosed. A copy of the Student Questionnaire
is attached herewith as Appendix I
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Methodology
(ii) Parents Questionnaire This survey form
consists of 49 questions on a 5 point Likert
scale(Strongly disagree,disagree,Neutral,Agree,
Strongly Agree) Respondents in this survey were
also assured that their responses would be
treated in the strictest confidence and under no
circumstances would individual survey responses
be disclosed. A copy of the Parents Questionnaire
is attached herewith as Appendix II To ensure
that our survey questionnaires were easy to
understand, we carried out a pilot survey with 2
sports coaches-one was from the Chinese Swimming
Club and the other was from the Singapore
Swimming Club.
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Methodology

• (b) Data collection Procedure
• The survey was conducted during the month of
  June. To ensure a fair survey , haphazard
  sampling, which was considered an acceptable
  alternative to random selection, was chosen .The
  following places and sports were surveyed-
• Places
• Singapore Swimming Club
• Chinese Swimming Club
• Sports
• Swimming
• Football
• Badminton
• Taekwondo
• Cross-country

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(c)Handling of Survey Forms
After we got back our survey forms, we discarded
survey forms which were not properly filled or
were incomplete. The remaining survey forms were
numbered for reference purposes.
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Hypothesis 1 Parents play a pivotal role in
deciding whether to send their children to the
Sports School. Parents encourage sports but they
will not compromise their childrens studies.
Parents place high hopes on their childrens
studies but not on sports. Parents feel that the
normal route for Singaporeans is to go to the
university and get a good career as they are not
sure what kind of career their children will have
if they go into sports.Students feel that their
parents know best when selecting a secondary
school
Results Discussion and Implications
Q2. I encourage my child to excel in sports.
Q4 I expect my child to do well in
studies. Q7. I will ask my child to drop
sport if he is not performing well
academically Q8. The normal route for
Singaporeans is to go to university and get a
good career. Q9. I am not sure what kind of
career my child will have if he/she goes into
sports. SQ5. My parents know best when selecting
a secondary school for me
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Results Discussion and Implications
Hypothesis 2 Pursuit of academic excellence and
sports excellence simultaneously is feasible in
the mainstream schools. Parents place more
importance on studies and they believe that
pursuit of both sports and studies in mainstream
schools are feasible.However, they are not sure
whether their own children are able to balance
both sports and studies at the sports school.
Q11. Studies are more important than sports.
Q12. It is possible to excel in both studies
and sports in mainstream schools. Q14. My
child will be able to strike a balance between
sports and studies at the sports
school. Q16. There are mainstream schools
which are able to balance sports and studies
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Results Discussion and Implications
Hypothesis 3 A change in mindset of Singaporeans
is the most important ingredient needed for the
Sports School to achieve its objectives over the
long-term. They feel that society values academic
achievements more than sports and they will not
allow their children to channel their energies
into sports which would not ensure their economic
future. They disagree that the sports school is
for the academically poor. Majority of the
parents were of the view that a mindset change
with a different set values is necessary before
we can look forward to producing homegrown
champions.
Q21. A mindset change with a different set of
values is necessary before we can look
forward to producing homegrown
champions. Q22. Society values academic
pursuits more than sports. Q23. Parents will
not allow their children to channel their
energies into sports which would not
ensure their economic future. Q25. Singapore
Sports School is only for those who are
academically poor in their studies but are good
in sports.
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Results Discussion and Implications
Hypothesis 4 The Sports School is a good nation
building tool. Parents agreed that Sports forges
a strong Singapore spirit as well as a can do
quality in our people. They agreed that sports
build bonds between ethnic groups and
Singaporeans feel a sense of bonding when we
support our athletes.
Q28. Sports forges a strong Singapore
spirit.
Q29. Sports fosters a can do quality in our
people. Q30. Singaporeans feel a sense of bonding
when we support our athletes Q31. Sports is a
good nation building tool. Q35 Sports build bonds
between ethnic groups.
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Results Discussion and Implications
Hypothesis 5 The sports school can bring about
a more competitive and dynamic sports environment
in Singapore.. Almost 50 of the parents believe
that the sports school will provide a good sports
education for children. They believe that their
children will excel in sports.They do not believe
the sports industry is growing. A significant
majority is doubtful whether Singapore can become
one of the top 10 sporting nations in Asia by
2010.
Q38. My child will be able to excel in
sports at the sports school.
Q39. Singapore Sports Schools well-structured
training programme will bring about a
more competitive and dynamic sports environment
here. Q40. The sports industry is growing and
there are now many job prospects in
sports. Q41. Singapore can become one of the top
10 sporting nations in Asia by 2010.
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Results Discussion and Implications

• Hypothesis 6 A small population base is not
  necessarily a hindrance for Singapore to become a
  top sporting nation.
• Fifty-one percent believe Singapore will have
  difficulty in achieving international sports
  excellence but we can still excel in sports
  despite our small population base.

Q44. Singapore can excel in sports in spite
of her small population base.
Q45. It would be difficult for Singapore
to achieve international sports excellence
due to her small population base.
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Results Discussion and Implications
Hypothesis 7 The Sports School will reduce
Singapores need to import athletes to augment
the local talent pool. They believe that
Singapores performance in international sports
has been greatly boosted by foreign talents. They
believe Singapores need for foreign talents
would be reduced when the Sports School can
produce home-grown champions.
Q46. Singapores performance in international
sports has been boosted by
foreign-born players. Q48.
Sports school will be able to cultivate
homegrown champions. Q49. Sports school will
reduce Singapores need to import foreign talents
to augment our local talent pool.
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Conclusion
Hypothesis 1 Parents play a pivotal role in
deciding whether to send their children to the
Sports School. (ACCEPTED) Hypothesis 2 Pursuit of
academic excellence and sports excellence
simultaneously is feasible in the mainstream
schools. (ACCEPTED) Hypothesis 3 A change in
mindset of Singaporeans is the most important
ingredient needed for the Sports School to
achieve its objectives over the long-term.
(ACCEPTED) Hypothesis 4 The Sports School is a
good nation building tool. (ACCEPTED) Hypothesis
5 The sports school can bring about a more
competitive and dynamic sports environment in
Singapore. (ACCEPTED) Hypothesis 6 A small
population base is not necessarily a hindrance
for Singapore to become a top sporting nation.
(ACCEPTED) Hypothesis 7 The Sports School will
reduce Singapores need to import athletes to
augment the local talent pool. (ACCEPTED)
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Limitations
Our research was not perfect due to limited time
and resources. The sampling size was not big
enough to confirm that the conclusions are true
for the entire population. We were not able to
extend the surveys to other sporting
organizations and schools as originally intended.
Interview with Mr. Harry Tan , a lecturer in the
Physical Education Department at the NTU was not
carried out although he has agreed.
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Appendixes
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Questions? Clarifications?
I hope that this presentation has achieved its
stated aims and objectives. Should you have any
questions, doubts or clarifications, please feel
free to address them to the project team.
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