The evolution of school leadership policy and practice in Singapore: responses to changing socio‐economic and political contexts (<i>insurgents</i>,<i>implementers</i>,<i>innovators</i>)

Abstract

The nature, quality and preparation of school leaders are once more at the centre of policy and practice decisions about education. But it is important to understand that school leadership, as both a historical and cultural construction, is intimately related to changing socio‐political realities. In the case of Singapore, the historical evolution from British colony to modern post‐industrial nation offered radically different contexts for education practice and leadership roles. This article argues that that educational policy and practice in Singapore can be divided into three major periods: the colonial phase during which educational policy was decentralised, fragmented and shaped by the numerical predominance of independent Chinese medium schools; the postindependence phase which was characterised by the enforcement of a highly centralised, standardised and rigidly managed system designed to ensure economic survival; and the third contemporary phase which calls for greater decentralisation, freedom and autonomy in order to produce greater flexibility and creativity.