This article examines how principals socially construct the leadership configuration of principals and vice-principals in Singapore and what factors influenced the principal's shaping of this configuration. The qualitative study, involving the interview of 10 principals, sought to understand how principals made sense of their vice-principals roles…

This paper aims to present the research findings on the perceptions, roles and implications of school leadership in the Singapore education system in relation to preparing students to be future-ready. This is an exploratory study that deploys a qualitative methodology. Data is collected through structured and semi-structured questions designed to…

This article examines what vice-principals in Singapore experience as constraints to their leadership practice, and how they deal with these constraints, cognisant that role misalignment for vice-principals presents barriers to schools achieving optimal effectiveness. This qualitative study seeks to hear the voices of vice-principals, to uncover…

The key role of teachers has been widely acknowledged in education reform and pedagogical innovation, and there is no exception in STEM education. This paper documents affordances and tensions in the implementation of STEM applied learning programme (ALP) through investigating school leaders and teachers' sensemaking of the new approach. Attending…

Educational research has been at the forefront of educational transformation by examining how learning occurs and enabling ways of learning notably through designing and implementing learning innovations. However, learning innovations are complex. There are multiple embedded contexts involving classrooms, schools, communities, homes and the wider…

Using a convenience sample of 289 teachers in Singapore, this study examined: (1) whether there were significant differences between teachers' perceptions of principal's and immediate supervisor's empowering behaviours; and (2) teachers' perceptions of principal's and immediate supervisor's empowering behaviours in relation to teachers'…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the instructional leadership practices and structure in Singapore primary schools. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a qualitative approach. Data were collected from interviews of 30 Singapore primary school principals and 25 working-day observations of five principals. A grounded…

The article reports the results of a cross-country educational research project that uses quantitative methods to identify school leadership practices and contextual characteristics that contribute to explain student achievement in Chile, considering international comparisons. The results question previous evidence about a common repertoire of…

Leadership research in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a relatively new undertaking. It combines leadership concepts from school research as well as from business. There are common aspects in the leadership profession, but the context and the mission define the content of leadership tasks and responsibilities. Data in this…

This paper presents the results of an exploratory research project about the perception of aspiring principals regarding the challenges of beginning principals and the support that they need. These aspiring principals are participants on the Leaders in Education Programme (LEP) in Singapore. According to the research findings, the LEP participants…

Singapore has implemented two Masterplans for Information Communication Technology (ICT) in education over the last decade. This article examines Singapore teachers' perspectives of how leadership for ICT implementation in schools is distributed among leaders, by means of a survey conducted in 2007. The study found that transformational and…

One of the key factors that contribute to effective management of schools is the professional development of principals. The role of the principal has become more complex with the dynamic and constant reforms in the educational environment. The present study focuses on the professional development of principals in New Zealand and Singapore. The…

"Great teachers and school leaders hold the key to America's children getting a first-rate education, but we do a spotty job of preparing them." Citing these words of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Vivien Stewart plunges into a fascinating account of how top-performing countries are developing strong school leaders. While…

Middle leaders are "recognised as a significant source in ensuring that quality education reaches out to pupils" (Low and Lim "1997", p. 77) for they are "the human link between national education policy as manifested in school-level strategic planning...and the teaching staff whose "field tactics" are used to…

The Leaders in Education Programme is a six-month full-time programme for specially selected vice-principals and ministry officers in Singapore to prepare them for school leadership. This paper describes and analyses the design of the programme and identifies the key underlying principle as that of knowledge construction, sharing and application…