School Leadership and Educational Change in Singapore PDF
Preview School Leadership and Educational Change in Singapore
Springer Texts in Education Benjamin Wong · Salleh Hairon · Pak Tee Ng Editors School Leadership and Educational Change in Singapore Springer Texts in Education Springer Texts in Education delivers high-quality instructional content for graduates and advanced graduates in all areas of Education and Educational Research. The textbook series is comprised of self-contained books with a broad and comprehensive coverage that are suitable for class as well as for individual self-study. All texts are authored by established experts in their fields and offer a solid methodological background, accompanied by pedagogical materials to serve students such as practical examples, exercises, case studies etc. Textbooks published in the Springer Texts in Education series are addressed to graduate and advancedgraduatestudents,butalsotoresearchersasimportantresourcesfortheir education, knowledge and teaching. Please contact Natalie Rieborn at textbooks. 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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13812 (cid:1) (cid:1) Benjamin Wong Salleh Hairon Pak Tee Ng Editors School Leadership and Educational Change in Singapore 123 Editors Benjamin Wong(Deceased) Salleh Hairon National Institute ofEducation National Institute ofEducation NanyangTechnological University NanyangTechnological University Singapore, Singapore Singapore, Singapore PakTee Ng National Institute ofEducation NanyangTechnological University Singapore, Singapore ISSN 2366-7672 ISSN 2366-7680 (electronic) SpringerTexts inEducation ISBN978-3-319-74744-6 ISBN978-3-319-74746-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74746-0 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2019933198 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2019 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Dr. Benjamin Wong 1959–2016 A Friend, Mentor, and Leader. You started this journey and left lasting impressions of love and grace on our lives. It is now complete, but you shall not be forgotten. Contents 1 Introduction: School Leadership and Educational Change in Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Pak Tee Ng and Benjamin Wong 2 Instructional Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 F. S. David Ng 3 Curriculum Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Christina Lim-Ratnam 4 Assessment Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Hui Yong Tay and Kelvin Tan 5 Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 William K. W. Choy and Paul M. H. Chua 6 Stakeholder Engagement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Lana Y. L. Khong 7 Professional Learning Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Salleh Hairon, Catherine S. K. Chua and Diwi Abbas 8 Design Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Yew Leong Wong and Benjamin Wong 9 Information Communication Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Catherine S. K. Chua and Ching Sing Chai 10 School Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Antonia K. W. Teng and Yenming Zhang 11 Character and Citizenship Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Zoe Boon and Benjamin Wong 12 School Branding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Jonathan W. P. Goh, Catherine S. K. Chua and Salleh Hairon 13 Conclusion: Leading Schools in Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Salleh Hairon vii Introduction: School Leadership 1 and Educational Change in Singapore Pak Tee Ng and Benjamin Wong There is great interest internationally to understand the success of the Singapore education system in the light of its strong and consistent results in international tests,suchasPISA,TIMSSandPIRLS.Singaporeranksconsistentlyamongthetop few countries for Reading, Mathematics and Science (OECD 2014). Interestingly, while some might have previously attributed the good results to rote learning and memorisation, the results of PISA 2012 have offered a different complexion to the issue. When students were assessed on twenty-first-century skills such as problem-solving and flexibility in thinking, Singapore once again performed well (MOE 2014). Notwithstandingitssuccess,theSingaporeeducationsystemischangingtohelp prepare its students for the more complex and demanding socio-economic envi- ronment of the twenty-first century. It continuously evolves to ensure that their students are well placed and well prepared to meet the emerging demands of a knowledge-driven global economy (MOE 2010; 2013). Under the 1997 umbrella vision of Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN), many initiatives were sub- sequently launched. These included National Education (NE), a four-phased ICT MasterplanandtheTeachLessLearnMore(TLLM)reform.These,andmanyother initiatives, reflected the system’s transformation to shift the focus of learning from quantity to quality (Ng 2008). Today, the Singapore education system continues its evolutionary path of changebyadoptingastudent-centric,value-driveneducationparadigm.Itaspiresto achieve (Heng 2012a): 1. Every school, a good school; 2. Every student, an engaged learner; 3. Every teacher, a caring educator and P.T.Ng(&)(cid:1)B.Wong NationalInstituteofEducation,NanyangTechnologicalUniversity,Singapore,Singapore e-mail:[email protected] ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2019 1 B.Wongetal.(eds.),SchoolLeadershipandEducationalChange inSingapore,SpringerTextsinEducation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74746-0_1 2 P.T.NgandB.Wong 4. Every parent, a supportive partner. Tobeabletodoso,akeysuccessfactorisschoolleadership,inparticular,thatis exercisedbytheschoolprincipal.Althoughtherearestillargumentstowhetherthe effectofaprincipalisdirectorindirect,principalsaregenerallyperceivedashaving significantimpact uponschooleffectiveness(read for exampleHallinger andHeck 1998; Gurr et al. 2005; Leithwood et al.2008;Dinham 2005; Fullan 2014). While therecanbemanyvariablesthathaveeffectsonstudentlearninginschool,onlythe principalcancreatetheconditionsunder whichtheseindividualvariablescombine synergisticallyinschooltoenhancelearning.Singaporebelievesintheimportance of the work of the school principal in bringing about educational change. The successful implementation of Singapore’s education policies depends crit- ically on the effectiveness and conviction of the principals interpreting these poli- cies in school. Principals are at the forefront of educational reform and they have great impact, as former Education Minister Heng Swee Keat articulated: PrincipalsarethecriticalinterfacebetweenMOEHQandtheground,betweenthecurrent realityandourdesiredfuture.Theactionsofour360Principalshaveatremendousimpact on33,000teachersandoverhalfamillionstudents.(Heng2012b) Principals have the challenging task of developing a positive school culture so that people are united in achieving the common goal of the entire system. A supportive school culture is critical. There is nothing like school leaders and HODs comingtogether,withtheSeniorTeachersandLeadTeachersintheschool,tocreatethis cultureofsupport,andthiscultureofunderstanding…thisiskeytomakingEverySchoola GoodSchool.(Heng2014a) But principals are not just leaders of their own school. They are leaders of the national school system. As Minister Heng explained: Allschoolsarepartofanationalschoolsystem.Youtakeupappointmentsacrossschools andseeeveryschoolasyourschool…Schoolleadershandovertoanotherpairofhands. This enables us to run a marathon, passing the baton, taking the long view, rather than seeing every school as a sprint and competing in this sprint. In that sense, you are all co-buildersofeveryschool.(Heng2014b) Therolesandresponsibilitiesofaprincipalarecomplexandwideranging.They include managing teachers, leading change, working with stakeholders and trans- forming curriculum and pedagogy. Implementingthisseriesofchangesisgoingtobeverychallenging,becauseitisnotjust aboutprogrammes,butaboutmindsetsandbeliefsonwhatmatters,andofexercisingfine judgmentofwhatisrelevantandusefulforeachchild.(Heng2013) Of course, school leadership is not an easy journey, as the minister said to the principals: Educationishardwork,anditisonlywiththisconvictionthatyou(theprincipal)willhave thestaminatoinspireeverystudenttobeanengagedlearner.(Heng2012b) 1 Introduction:SchoolLeadershipandEducationalChange... 3 This book aims to provide readers with insights into how Singapore school leaders are actively engaged in the transformation of the Singapore education system. The case studies will focus on how Singapore school leaders interpret and implement new policy initiatives, sharing valuable ‘insider’ stories about the problems and challenges of educational reform. 1.1 The Case for Case Studies The case studies in this book should be of great interest to those keen to explore possibilities of educational reform both in Asia and beyond. They are sufficiently richtofulfillabroadsweepofeducationalinterests,althoughtheirmainpurposeis pedagogical—to facilitate professional reflection and discussion regarding the challengesofschoolleadership.Thesecasestudiescanbeusedbypracticingschool leaders in their reflection or as instructional material in school leadership prepa- rationprogrammes.Whileusefultoacademicsasapotentialsourceofinformation, the cases here are not to be confused with formal qualitative empirical studies designed to answer research questions. A case is a description of an event, a problem or a challenge, with its relevant details most commonly presented in the form of a written narrative.1 With proper construction,theyaidintheidentificationofproblemsorchallenges,infacilitating critical discussion and analysis of issues, and in offering exercises in practicing decision-making. Casesmaybeanonymousifnotdoingsomaydisclosesensitivestrategicand/or personally identifiable information. They may even be partly or wholly fictitious, but contain enough details that capture the essence of the themes and problems involved.Acaseneednotbe‘real’inthesenseofafaithfulrecordingofeventsthat have actually happened, but must have a basis in reality and help readers engage with scenarios that are likely to occur in reality. A case is thus designed to be a learning vehicle with specific educational purposes in mind (Easton 1992); it is oftenwritteninordertopresentparticularthemesandtofosterrelevantdisciplinary and/or professional skills. Cases vary in length and detail. The complexity of a case is independent of its length.Rather,itislargelydependentontheindividual’sorgroup’sabilitytosolve theproblemsthatmakeupthecase,andtheinter-disciplinaryskillsthateachperson or group brings to bear on them. Cases are typically accompanied by questions of the form, ‘If you were person X, what would you do?’ Such questions help the individual to make a decision regarding the most suitable course of action, after a process of deliberation and discussion. Some cases also record the decisions actually taken by the person(s) in question, and the resulting effects, offering the 1Thereexistmultimediacasescontainingaudio,videoandslides,etc.,thoughtheyarerelatively fewbecausetheyareexpensivetoprepare.(seeEaston1992).
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