The perceptions of the European Union among tertiary education students in Singapore

Students from the three main universities in Singapore were surveyed in the third quarter 2008 to assess their perceptions and knowledge of Europe/the European Union. This survey complements and expands upon that done in 2006 by the National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE) which was supported by Asia–Europe Foundation. The student survey showed that this important age and education cohort had a middling to low assessment of the EU in its importance for Singapore, an assessment which was much lower than the objective view of the relation (in terms of trade and the EU as a dialogue partner) would warrant. The sources of this perception were examined, and it was found that there was no immediate correlation between level of assessment of Europe/the EU and: gender, nationality, year of study, subject of study or frequency of accessing the local media for international news. Therefore, such perceptions can be assumed to derive from sporadic, ad hoc intangible contacts and fleeting impressions rather than through formal education, the media and specific, focussed and localised EU-related outreach programmes.

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Barnard TurnerEmail: