Comparative Study of the Physical Education Policies of Singapore and Bhutan

Abstract

In the early 2010 the Bhutanese government realized the importance of physical education especially in the school system as sedentary lifestyle was being adopted by most Bhutanese. However since its implementation, the policy expected outcomes were not encouraging. This study investigates the short comings of the Bhutanese Physical Education policy through comparing it with Singapores policy as the Bhutanese Education Policy itself was formulated in line with the Singaporean Education Policy. The research set the objective to find the major differences in the two countries and the obstacles faced by the Physical Education policy in Bhutan. In addition, the research identifies good practices that could be adopted from Singapores case. A qualitative research based on document analysis was used as the method to conduct this study. It mainly focused on finding the differences in the practices of the physical education at the different educational levels in the Education System of Singapore and Bhutan. This comparison helped in drawing good practices from Singapores case which could be adopted and implemented in the Bhutanese context. The study found out that no systematic approach is adopted in implementing Physical Education in the Education Institutions in Bhutan and Physical Education is also not given equal importance in comparison to other curriculums. In addition, the time allocation for Physical Education is not sufficient and an inadequate staffing is in practice. Whereas in Singapores case the policy clearly defines what is expected from the Physical Education intervention and how it is projected to be achieved.