"NIE plays a critical role in developing a teaching service that is equipped for the future. Through its training of new teachers and upgrading of serving teachers, NIE is an important partner with the Ministry in building a strong education system."
...Mr Teo Chee Hean, Former Minister for Education, Teachers' Investiture Ceremony (6 January, 2001) cited in Forging Ahead Embracing the Future.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) oversees all educational policy in Singapore, including those related to teacher education. NIE as the sole institution responsible for educating teachers, administrators, and para-educators in Singapore has played an integral partnership role in developing a corps of dedicated, high quality teachers, school leaders and education professionals.
NIE works closely with MOE in integrating key policies and initiatives into our teacher preparation programmes. NIE's mission to provide a relevant teaching workforce entails that the curriculum at NIE be cognizant of nationwide policies and initiatives implemented by the MOE such as Curriculum 2015 (C2015), Primary Education Review Initiatives (PERI), Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN), Master plan for IT in Education 1, 2 and 3 (MP1, 2 & 3), National Education (NE), Desired Outcomes of Education (DOE), Teach Less, Learn More (TLLM), Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
NIE also partners with MOE and schools in a tripartite relationship to provide student teachers with a school-based practicum that enables them to translate the knowledge and skills learnt on campus into practice in their classrooms. The NIE's Practicum Partnership Model prepares the student teachers to take on the challenges of the 'real' classroom by involving schools in teacher preparation, and getting school practitioners to be centrally involved in the supervision of teaching practicum.
Together, MOE and NIE regularly build representative teams to collaborate for collective and structural reviews to implement research-based best practices, incorporate curricula changes and to review existing programmes.
Research conducted at the Office of Educational Research is funded by the MOE and aims which to help promote and improve research-based pedagogical practice both at NIE and at schools.