Ng, David Foo Seong

Learning need not be a serious matter. The use of computer simulations provides evidence that learning can be interesting, meaningful and engaging (Ng, 2001). In this paper, the authors explored the design and use of a computer simulation called "Organizational Structures" as an e-learning tool in the field of leadership preparation programmes. The simulation is able to provide the context and practice platform for learning the skills of configuring organizational structures.

In the Singapore education system, e-learning is fast becoming the next frontier for schools. E-learning has the potential to add great value to education, allowing modes of learning that have never been possible in the traditional classroom context. However, before we hail e-learning as the definitive step forward in education and plunge headlong into it, educators have to understand e-learning and its implications in school leadership, management,curriculum, resources and pedagogy. While a well thought through approach will bring great gains to a school, blindly plunging into it may bring great pains because the process of change can be fraught with subtle pitfalls. Using the Organisational Change Model, this article provides a framework for schools to systemically and systematically consider the issues related to the implementation of e-learning in schools and the process of change. It argues that school leaders should consider the goals, business, culture, processes, and enablers (working tools) seamlessly and coherently in order that e-learning could be anchored in the school to bring real sustainable benefits.

This paper examined leadership practices which supported the diffusion of an innovation in a cluster of schools in Singapore, through the lenses of complexity leadership theory (CLT) and ecological leadership. The approach is a qualitative case study, with the unit of analysis bounded by the innovation and a cluster of schools involved in the diffusion effort. The case study involved investigations mainly at four ecological levels: the ministry (macro), the cluster (exo), school/subject department (meso) and teacher (micro), involving nine observations of the cluster’s community of teachers in 2019, and interviews or focused group discussions with 33 participants, including ministry officers, school leaders, key personnel and teachers. Findings and Implications: The findings illustrate the diffusion of an innovation through the interactional dynamics of administrative, adaptive, and enabling leadership, how these three CLT roles were performed by formal and informal leaders, deliberately or emergent, and across ecological levels. These leadership roles enabled learning and adaptions across and within ecologies. The study also reinforced the importance of the moral and emotional aspects of leadership in providing teachers with the motivation and support to cope with changes. The affordances, challenges, and limitations in applying CLT are elaborated.

As the once-in-a-lifetime stimulus of a pandemic creates the opportunity for change, this ground-breaking and timely edited text is a must-have springboard for the re-imagination of education system leadership. How can education stakeholders act in collaboration to lead us into a new and different age?

This study examined distributed leadership in Information Communication Technology reform in a government school in Singapore. The study adopted a naturalistic inquiry approach, involving the case study of a school. The study found that leadership for ICT reform is distributed according to functions of transformational, instructional, emotional and strategic management of resources. The key enabling factors are an official leadership position, access to expertise, support by senior management, and interpersonal synergies amongst the leaders. Transformational leadership is performed mainly by senior management. Instructional leadership is performed mainly by middle management. Both senior and middle management provided emotional leadership.

This study investigates the impact of Instructional Leadership practices and School Culture on staff performance in Singapore schools. It is one of the three collaborative research projects drawn from a programmatic study. The programmatic study itself builds on the previous MOE funded baseline study on school leadership and organization change (OER CD 3/10).