Understanding Singaporean educational leadership: A sociocultural perspective

Abstract

<p>The present study examines how Singapore school leadership is influenced by Asian and Singaporean values using a systematic review of 72 studies on Singapore school leadership published 2000–2021. Results showed that collectivistic values shaped moral leadership responsibilities while high power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation contributed to the nuanced implementation of distributed leadership. Importantly, four unique Singaporean values also shaped school leadership. First, meritocratic principles influenced leaders' allocation of educational resources and opportunities in Singapore schools. Second, Singapore school leaders valued preparing students for the future world of work. Third, the pursuit of systems-level coherence developed into ecological leadership across schools in Singapore. Fourth, the strategically pragmatism of Singapore school leaders enabled them to use different leadership strategies to meet complex educational needs. When put together, Singapore school leaders employed a meta-strategic perspective incorporating different cultural values for school effectiveness and student learning. The study contributes to scholarship by providing an up-to-date, comprehensive review of Singapore school leadership premised on Asian and unique Singaporean values. It also shows that different values influencing school leadership are not necessarily congruent, thereby pointing the way forward for researchers to examine sources of tension within school leadership.<br></p>