School mergers in Singapore: a sociological analysis of educational equity

This thesis is written to address, in part, the issue of just who enjoys access to which school, and the differing experiences and outcomes of graduates from different schools in Singapore. I problematise the issue of school closures in Singapore beyond the official narrative of slowing population growth. Questions of social justice in Singapore about state education’s contribution to social mobility and the reproduction of social inequality have been raised in recent years. I argue that Singapore schools have been moulded by the state’s ideological bearings of meritocracy and elitism, thus resulting in its current hierarchical form. My thesis brings to the fore issues of social mobility, equality and equity as manifested through public education and school choice and contributes to the extant literature on the sociology of education.