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Within the context of fierce global economic competition, school diversification and specialist schools have been seen by governments as cornerstones of education policy to engineer school improvement in both England and Singapore for more than a decade. In both systems, the policy has manifested in different school types, school names and sometimes buildings--in England, specialist status schools, academies and most recently free schools; and in Singapore, specialist schools and niche schools. Diversification is promoted by each school emphasising distinctiveness in its curriculum--often with implications for its funding and degree of autonomy--which differentiate it from others. There is normally the intention to scale-up curricular innovations school-wide. The paper addresses three aims in respect to both countries: first, it profiles the evolution of specialist schools' policies in both states in relation to school improvement and secondly, social justice; thirdly, it undertakes a comparative policy analysis in order to draw conclusions as to how the relationship between central government and schools has re-configured in both countries--arguing that the policy in England is radical, that in Singapore, conservative.

A traditional preoccupation with the immediate and short term on the part of school leaders has recently given way to recognition of the need for, and importance of, strategic leadership. However, this article expresses a number of concerns about recent thinking on strategic leadership, in particular, the view that vision and school improvement planning are sufficient and will deliver school improvement, and that a focus on market-related criteria, such as student enrolment and finance, will suffice. Instead, we argue that strategic leadership is predicated on a capacity for whole-school design for improvement. Comprehensive and holistic school designs conform to detailed and articulated strategic intents. Leaders formulate their holistic school designs and exercise strategic leadership around a coherent set of values and the following key features: learning for all as the centrepiece of the design; connectivity and consistency between the elements of the school in order to achieve synergy; an iterative and backward-mapping process that secures alignment between shorter-term flexibility and responsiveness, and the longer-term design blueprint; and the reflection of, and responsiveness to, social-cultural context, increasingly important in contemporary multiethnic communities.

Proposes a 10-criteria classification framework, derived from current literature, to capture the characteristics of the design, leadership, and implementation of school improvement programs in the United Kingdom. Uses the classification frame to analyze the design model adopted by the secondary school in the case study. Draws conclusions about the usefulness of the framework. (Contains 27 references.) (PKP)

Discusses the concept of globalization and explores the relationship between globalization and societal culture. States the transfer between systems must be more culturally sensitive. Offers a list of cultural dimensions to gauge the influence of cultures. Argues that greater cultural sensitivity is necessary when raising issues on school reform and improvement. (CMK)

Justifies and develops a conceptual framework for a cross-cultural approach to educational administration, focusing on the school as the baseline unit for analysis. The proposed framework is built around interrelationships among core concepts: culture, organizational structures, leadership and management processes, curriculum, and teaching and learning. Implications are discussed. (75 references) (MLH)

Purpose – While Singapore's outstanding educational achievements are well known worldwide, there is a disproportionate paucity of literature on school leadership practices that contribute to and support pedagogical initiatives that – along with socio-cultural factors – are normally considered responsible for its educational success. The aim of this paper is to explicate system-wide school leadership factors that contribute to Singapore's educational success. Design/methodology/approach – The paper includes critical discussion, review of literature and conceptualization. Findings – It is argued that three unique features of Singapore school leadership, namely – logistics of a small tightly-coupled school system, human resource policies that reinforce alignment, and a distinctive "leader-teacher compact" reflecting the predominant Chinese culture – account for the extraordinary level of tight coupling and alignment of leadership across the school system. In turn, these unique features bring synergies of sustainability, scalability, succession, and high performance across the entire Singapore school system. Research limitations/implications – Unique features of Singapore school leadership must be examined in conjunction with pedagogical initiatives and socio-cultural factors for a more complete and nuanced understanding of educational success in Singapore. Practical implications – Tightly coupled mechanisms of leadership underlie the success of Singapore education. Government needs to consider whether such tightly- coupled leadership will continue to serve it well in future, given the demand for twenty-first century knowledge based skills. Social implications – The influence of socio-cultural factors (e.g. leader-teacher compact) on educational success merits inclusion in any explanation. Originality/value – This paper addresses an important gap in the literature by promulgating crucial features of school leadership that contribute to Singapore's educational success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the literature on professional learning communities (PLCs) has proliferated, much of it derived from and contextualised in Anglo-American settings, the concept and practice of PLCs in Asian contexts of strong hierarchies have largely been ignored. Based on literature and documentary analysis, this paper investigates the systemic implementation of PLCs in Singapore schools. The authors seek to show first how policy developments have in effect been laying the seedbed for PLCs for some 13 years, and yet evidence suggests that teacher pedagogy has been slow to change. Secondly, Singapore educational cultural and institutional contexts are reviewed to reveal how they mediate and filter “Western” notions of PLCs. Three potential implementation difficulties are identified – high teacher workloads, ambiguity of PLC processes and their efficacy, and hierarchical system and workplaces. Conclusions and implications emphasise the importance of effective school leadership in developing PLC practices, and how societal culture and context fundamentally shape the form that PLCs take. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues that it is timely for educational researchers in Asia, and Singapore in particular, to generate cultural- and empirical-knowledge bases in school leadership that will speak to the specific interests of Asian students, educators and practitioners. As economic and social development across Asia gathers momentum, the more advanced Asian systems of education, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, will increasingly have the resources and expertise to launch significant research programmes in school leadership and organisational change, thereby challenging the persistent and present dominance of Anglo-American perspectives. The paper reports a planned large scale research programme for school leadership and organisational change in Singapore. Support for such a programme from all three major stakeholders – the Ministry of Education (MOE), the National Institute of Education (NIE) and school leaders and teachers – is conditional on the research programme leading to school improvement and better student outcomes. The paper sketches the politico–cultural–economic conditions of Singapore in which such an agenda has been formed; describes the main features of the research programme; and then relates its features to a possible broader Asian and international research agenda in school leadership. The planned Singapore programme has congruence with a future international research agenda advocated by scholars for the field of educational leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Singapore has a high performing school system; its students top international tests in maths and science. Yet while the Singapore government cherishes its world class 'brand', it realises that in a globally competitive world, its schools need to prepare students for the twenty-first-century knowledge-based economy (KBE). Accordingly, over the past 13 years, the government has been laying a policy platform conducive to innovative curricula and pedagogy. Despite the government's command and control ethos, and a history of school responsiveness to economic needs, schools have yet to undertake serious transformation in preparing students for the KBE. This article argues that the present focus on innovation in the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment needs to be accompanied by a simultaneous re-configuration in leadership and school organisation, thus generating school-wide transformation. It comprises three parts: the first maps the connectivity between the economic and education development of Singapore since 1965 to the present; the second outlines the human resource implications of KBEs for a twenty-first-century curriculum; and the third maps the transformation of school leadership and organisation that is needed if curricular and pedagogic innovations are to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the international positioning and role of the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). The article argues that the college stands as an initiator, exporter, importer and disseminator of leadership research and practice and that the role it adopts in regard to these will determine its international influence. The first part of the article discusses the uniqueness of the college and the possible pathways along which its influence could expand. It acknowledges that in building its sphere of influence the college faces a context of unpredictability and uncertainty. The second part of the article focuses specifically on the international role of the NCSL and suggests that from among a range of alternatives, the college would be wise to adopt a confrere role, that is, genuinely mutual dialogue and co-operative learning relationship with researchers and partners overseas. The third part of the article recognizes the associated difficulties and complexities of adopting such a confrere role. It goes on to suggest that the likely benefits of such an approach would not only create a rich international learning environment for policy-makers and school leaders alike, but would also benefit the growing number of multicultural schools and communities in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]