The roles of school leaders in developing future-ready learners: the case of Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-269
Author(s):  
Choun Pei Wong ◽  
David Ng
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Society

PurposeAn education system can only be successful if it can develop future-ready learners who can continue to learn after graduation, take on their future lifework and thrive in the future society and environment. This article examines the economic, social and environmental trajectories of Singapore and proposes that it is important for future-ready learners to develop habits of practices that will support the skills, knowledge and values that are pertinent to these trajectories.Design/methodology/approachSchool leaders are responsible for creating environments and implementing practices that are conducive for fostering habits of practices that are crucial for future-ready outcomes. The authors discuss the inadequacies of traditional teaching and learning practices in supporting these habits and elucidate how newer paradigms such as constructivism, connectivism, coagency and communities of practice might be more useful in achieving this. The authors also present a case study of a school leadership preparation programme that aims to develop future-ready learners.FindingsThis paper provides insights into how newer paradigms of teaching and learning can be supportive for developing desirable habits of practices for future readiness.Originality/valueThis discussion piece introduces a fresh concept – habits of practices – that is relevant in preparing future-ready learners in Singapore.

Offline vs online problem-based learning: a case study of student engagement and learning outcomes

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Kristianto ◽  
Linda Gandajaya
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Health Related

Purpose Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to compare the student engagement and the learning outcomes in offline and online PBL in the aforementioned course. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in various sectors, including education. Since it was first announced in mid-March 2020 in Indonesia, teaching and learning activities have been carried out online. In this study, a comparison of the offline (Spring 2019, prior to the pandemic) and online (Spring 2021, during the pandemic) problem-based learning (PBL) method in the sustainable chemical industry course is investigated. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative analysis was conducted by measuring the students’ engagement, course-learning outcomes (CLOs) and student learning outcomes (SLOs). Difference tests of engagement score, CLOs and SLOs were investigated by using the t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test. Furthermore, the perceived students’ stressors were measured. Findings It is found that the students’ engagement in offline and online PBL gives similar scores with no significant difference. This is possible because of the PBL structure that demands students to be actively engaged in gaining knowledge, collaboratively working in teams and interacting with other students and lecturers. Although similarly engaged, the CLOs and SLOs of online PBL are significantly lower than offline PBL, except for SLO related to oral and written communication skills and affective aspect. The decrease in CLOs and SLOs could be influenced by students’ academic, psychological and health-related stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic time. Originality/value This study provides a recommendation to apply online PBL during the COVID-19 pandemic time and beyond, although some efforts to improve CLOs and SLOs are needed.

COVID-19 – school leadership in crisis?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 321-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Harris
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Changing Role

PurposeThis article explores how school leaders are responding during COVID-19 and what forms of leadership practice are emerging.Design/methodology/approachThis article draws upon the contemporary leadership literature and scholarly work.FindingsThis article proposes that the current crisis has shifted school leadership dramatically towards distributed, collaborative and network practices.Originality/valueThis article offers a commentary about the changing role of school leaders and their changing leadership practice during this pandemic.

School leadership during a pandemic: navigating tensions

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 391-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah M. Netolicky
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Individual

PurposeThis paper explores, from the perspective of an Australian pracademic, how school leaders are leading during the global COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis essay explores the tensions navigated by school leaders leading during this time of global crisis, by looking to research as well as the author's lived experience.FindingsThe author finds that school leaders are navigating the following: accountability and autonomy; equity and excellence; the individual and the collective and well-being and workload.Originality/valueThis paper offers insights into school leadership, at all times but especially during times of crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Re-examining the philosopher’s stone of leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-663
Author(s):  
Fenwick W. English ◽  
Lisa Catherine Ehrich
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Multiple Identities ◽  
Leadership Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the phenomenon of leadership at the intersection of aesthetics, identity and self within a dynamic, fluid and interactive compositional mixture which is part of a leader’s continuous process of invention and reinvention. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this paper is a conceptual analysis and presentation involving some of the extant literature in the field of aesthetics, identity and leadership, including Harold Bloom’s theory of poetry that provides an entrance point to understand the problem of identity. The authors argue that a person, such as a leader, has multiple identities and interactions with others which lead to the co-construction of the self. To demonstrate this argument, the authors explore a case study of the life of the opera diva, Maria Callas. Findings An exploratory conceptual model demonstrating the relationship between identity and self, and insights and Bloom’s theory are applied to illuminate the case study of Maria Callas’ life. A key finding of the analysis is that identity is linked to performance and co-constructed in relation to others. Practical implications The paper concludes by discussing two implications for developing school leadership performance: the need for an aesthetic perspective of leadership and the need to provide a range of teaching approaches to teach leadership. Originality/value There have been few, if any, significant breakthroughs in understanding more about leadership from the traditional methods of social science. It is argued that until and unless researchers move towards working in aesthetic traditions there is not likely to be new understandings of it.

Experience-Based Leadership Training: Reflections of African-American School Leaders

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maenette K. P. Benham ◽  
Edward Shepard
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Leadership Training ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
The United States ◽  
American School ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Professional Experiences

A variety of innovative pedagogues focused on improving school leadership preparation programs are currently under way throughout the United States. Coupled with these fresh approaches to teaching and learning that center on exploring the professional knowledge of the practitioner, more institutions are actively recruiting school leaders who represent a range of ethnic backgrounds. The intent of the following paper is to examine the usefulness of one innovative instructional approach, an experientially-based leadership retreat, for five African-American school leaders. The stories presented in this paper attempt to link the participants’ lives and professional experiences to the leadership retreat to answer the question “What did they learn about themselves through this experience?” The emergent themes have universal value and positive implications for current and future leadership preparation programs.

Teaching and learning English in a multicultural classroom: strategies and opportunities

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Xerri
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Classroom Strategies ◽  
Multicultural Classroom ◽  
Learning English

Purpose This paper aims to explore the beliefs and experiences of a group of teachers endeavouring to enhance their students’ learning of English while adapting to a multicultural classroom reality. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the results of a case study involving a number of semi-structured interviews. Findings The paper illustrates how the teachers and their learners adopted a number of strategies to make the most of the opportunities of learning English within a multilingual context. Originality/value This paper underscores the role that language-in-education policies can play in enhancing the teaching and learning of English in a multicultural classroom.

Measuring the risk of knowledge drain in communities of practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchul Lee ◽  
Euiho Suh ◽  
Modeum Lee
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Knowledge Networks ◽  
Knowledge Level ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Expert Network

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop a metric that quantitatively measures the risk of knowledge drain associated with the departure of a member in communities of practice (CoP). Design/methodology/approach – This paper considers two possible cases in which departure of a member has a high risk of causing knowledge drain: when the member is a network leader, and when the member is an isolated expert. Network analysis is used to identify network influence of each member. The proposed metric is designed considering network influence and knowledge level of individual members, and applied to a case study using real-world data from an online CoP. Findings – This paper demonstrates that the proposed metric properly provides information about the members whose departure could cause serious damage to the CoP because of their strong influence or their inactivity in the network. The metric enables practitioners to identify critical members, and to enact precautions to reduce the vulnerability of the CoP. Originality/value – Compared to the threat of knowledge drain, few studies have attempted to measure the risk associated with departure of a member. This study has developed a metric to measure the risk of knowledge drain in a CoP. The approach and methods of this paper offer a foundation for designing assessment methods for knowledge networks and provide new insights into quantitative research in knowledge management.

Principal leadership preparation towards high-performing school leadership in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-439
Author(s):  
Donnie Adams ◽  
Ashley Ng Yoon Mooi ◽  
Vasu Muniandy
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Professional Qualification ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Comprehensive Plan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the Malaysian National Professional Qualification for Educational Leaders (NPQEL), a principal leadership preparation programme and the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013–2025, a comprehensive plan for a rapid and sustainable transformation of our education system through to 2025 to ensure high-performing school leaders in every school.Design/methodology/approachIn understanding how the NPQEL operates and its effectiveness in preparing high performing school leaders, a research instrument of open-ended questions were administered to 102 principals from government-funded secondary schools, to establish how they were prepared for their leadership roles and their views of their leadership practices.FindingsThe NPQEL programme provides evidence of strong outcomes in preparing school leaders towards high-performing school leadership in Malaysia in combination of a variety of approaches with respect to its designs and competency standards. Findings indicate that the NPQEL contributes towards the development of the school leaders' attributes or skills for their leadership roles; and the NPQEL fulfils the aspirations set out in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013–2025.Originality/valueThis paper explores the potential influence of Malaysian NPQEL and the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013–2025 on preparing high-performing school leaders in every school.

Leadership practices of school principal through a distributed leadership lens: a case study of a secondary school in urban Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-422
Author(s):  
Ali Nawab ◽  
Muhammad Mujtaba Asad
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Original Data ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Content Type

PurposeUnless the expertise of multiple teachers is availed, it is very unlikely for an individual leader to bring improvement especially at classroom level. This realization had led to the emergence of distributed leadership which is about engaging multiple individuals in leadership roles. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of school leadership in distributing leadership to teachers in a private secondary school in an urban context of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachUsing qualitative approach and case study method, the research collects data from school leaders and teachers involved in leadership roles through interviews.FindingsIt was found that leadership facilitates distributed leadership through formulating a vision to develop teachers, enhancing the capacity of individuals involved in leadership roles, establishing a culture of trust, and creating opportunities for interaction and collaboration among teachers.Practical implicationsSchool leadership should distribute leadership to teachers in order to utilize the potential of multiple individuals which will ultimately lead to school improvement through initiatives from within. Educational reformers should incorporate the concept of distributed leadership in the professional development programmes designed for school leaders and teachers.Originality/valueThe study is first of its nature which reports on distributed leadership from a private sector school of Pakistan based on original data.

Identity reconciliation and knowledge mobilization in a mandated community of practice

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adamina Ivcovici ◽  
Ian McLoughlin ◽  
Alka Nand ◽  
Ananya Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Knowledge Mobilization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Communities of Practice (CoPs) are increasingly being created to facilitate knowledge mobilization in organizations. This paper aims to elucidate an underexplored aspect of participation in mandated CoPs – identity reconciliation. Specifically, the authors explore how actors reconcile their existing identities with becoming members of new knowledge mobilization CoPs. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a longitudinal qualitative case study over a 12-month period to explore identity reconciliation practices during the formation of the “ED CoP” – mandated by policymakers to mobilize knowledge between process improvement advisors and clinicians from various hospitals. Observation and interviews allowed us to uncover “front stage” and “backstage” practices of identity reconciliation. Findings The findings reveal two key unexpected modes of identity reconciliation – “distancing” and “peripheral lurking”. These modes resulted in different trajectories of participation of two of the key participant groups – “veteran” improvement advisors and “veteran” clinicians. Practical implications Different modes of identity reconciliation of different participants impact the formation of CoPs and how knowledge mobilization occurs within them. This paper offers a sensitizing lens for practitioners creating CoPs which enhances awareness of hidden identity practices, and recommendations to enable practitioners to effectively facilitate CoP formation. Originality/value This study suggests that identity reconciliation is an integral aspect of CoP formation, and essential for knowledge mobilization within CoPs. Whereas studies on CoPs in the knowledge management literature have mostly assumed that collaboration produces beneficial knowledge mobilization outcomes, the findings build a more nuanced picture of the processes involved in producing these outcomes.

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