E-Leadership: Reconceptualising Teacher Leadership in the Singapore Digitised Educational Landscape

Main Article Content

Catherine Chua Siew Kheng
Johannah Soo Li Mei

Abstract

There is an increase in demand for teacher leaders to take on and lead the digitised change in the classrooms. However, there is still limited research on how ready teachers are to lead and manage online teaching during and post-COVID times, and hence this exploratory study investigates the challenges that teachers face in enacting e-leadership. To answer the question on “how do the process and development of the introduction of Home-Based Learning (HBL) influence teacher leadership in Singapore?”, through convenience sampling, this study used questionnaires to understand in-service teachers’ readiness to be e-leaders and the drawbacks in the development and introduction of the hybrid or e-curriculum. The study concluded that when building teacher leadership capacity, it is important for school leaders to set the direction, establish a culture of online learning, and develop e-champions to support e-pedagogies. E teacher leadership can be described as hybrid leadership that consists of a blend of face-to-face and virtual leadership skills.

Article Details

Section
Articles

References

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership: A response to critiques. In M. Chemers, & R. Ayman (Eds.), Leadership theory and research: Perspectives and directions (pp. 49–80). Academic Press.

Black, S. A. (2015). Qualities of effective leadership in higher education. Open Journal of Leadership, 4(2), 54–66. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojl.2015.42006

Borgatta, E. F., Bales, R. F., & Couch, A. S. (1954). Some findings relevant to the great man theory of leadership. American Sociological Review, 19(6), 755–759. https:// doi.org/10.2307/2087923

Brewer, C. (2010). Servant leadership: A review of literature. Online Journal of Workforce Education and Development, 4(2), 1–8. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=ojwed

Chai, C. S., & Koh, J. H. L. (2017). Changing teachers’ TPACK and design beliefs through the Scaffolded TPACK Lesson Design Model (STLDM). Learning: Research and Practice, 3(2), 114–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2017.1360506

Chai, C. S., Tan, L., Deng, F., & Koh, J. H. L. (2017). Examining pre-service teachers’ design capacities for web-based 21st century new culture of learning. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 33(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.3013

Cheung, R., Reinhardt, T., Stone, E., & Little, J. W. (2018). Defining teacher leadership: A framework. Phi Delta Kappan, 100(3), 38–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721718808263

Cosenza, M. N. (2015). Defining teacher leadership: Affirming the teacher leader model standard. Issues in Teacher Education, 24(2), 79–99.

Department of Statistics Singapore. (2023). Environment. Retrieved 20 January 2023 from https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/society/environment/latest-data

Donohoo, J. (2018). Collective teacher efficacy research: Productive patterns of behaviour and other positive consequences. Journal of Educational Change, 19(3), 323–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-018-9319-2

Dozier, T. (2007). Turning good teachers into great teachers. Educational Leadership, 65(1), 54–55.

Fairman, J. C., & Mackenzie, S. V. (2012). Spheres of teacher leadership action for learning. Professional Development in Education, 38(2), 229–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2012.657865

Fullan, M. (2014). The principal: Three keys to maximizing impact. Jossey Bass. Ghamrawi, N. (2022). Teachers’ virtual communities of practice: A strong response in times of crisis or just another Fad? Education and Information Technologies, 27, 5889– 5915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10857-w

Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b3baed55ffd20d4c7c2adbb/t/5b76ee4acd8366151c6303cf/1534520907522/The+Servant+as+Leader-2.pdf

Greenlee, B. J. (2007). Building teacher leadership capacity through educational leadership programs. Journal of Research for Educational Leaders, 4(1), 44–74.

Hallinger, P. (2003). Leading educational change: Reflections on the practice of instructional and transformational leadership. Cambridge Journal of Education, 33(3), 329–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764032000122005

Hallinger, P. (2005). Instructional leadership and the school principal: A passing fancy that refuses to fade away. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 4, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700760500244793

Hargreaves, A. (2021). What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us about teachers and teaching. Facets, 6(1), 1835–1863. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0084

Harkavy, D. (2020). The 7 perspectives of effective leaders: A proven framework for improving decisions and increasing your influence. BakerBooks.

Harris, A. (2008). Distributed leadership: According to the evidence. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(2), 172–188. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230810863253

Harris, A., & Jones, M. (2019). Teacher leadership and educational change. School Leadership & Management, 39(2), 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1574964

Harris, A., Jones, M., & and Huffman, J. (2017). Teachers leading educational reform: The power of professional learning communities. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315630724

Harris, A. (2020). COVID-19: School leadership in crisis. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 5(3/4), 321–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-06-2020-0045

Howell, J. M., & Higgins, C. A. (1990). Champions of change: Identifying, understanding, and supporting champions of technological innovations. Organizational Dynamics, 19(1), 40–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(90)90047-S

Huber, S. G., & Helm, C. (2020). COVID-19 and schooling: Evaluation, assessment and accountability in times of crises-reacting quickly to explore key issues for policy, practice and research with the school barometer. Education Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 32, 237–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-020-09322-y

Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations (2nd ed.). Wiley.

Koh, J. H. L., Chai, C. S., & Lee, M-H. (2015). Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for pedagogical improvement: Editorial for special issue on TPACK. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 24(3), 459–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0241-6

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Harvard Business School Press.

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The leadership challenge (5th ed.). Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/3988308/mod_resource/content/2/LEADERSHIP%20CHALLENGE.pdf

Lieberman, A., Campbell, C., & Yashkina, A. (2016). Teacher learning and leadership: Of, by, and for teachers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315673424

Menon, R. (2022). The Singapore synthesis: Innovation, inclusion, inspiration. World Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1142/12690

Ministry of Education (MOE). (2020). Education statistics digest 2020. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sg/-/media/files/about-us/education-statistics-digest-2020.pdf

Ministry of Education (MOE). (2022). Educational technology journey. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/educational-technology-journey

Ministry of Education (MOE). (2023). Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS). Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/student-learning-space

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2010). PISA 2009 Results: What makes a school successful? Resources, policies and practices (Vol. IV). PISA: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264091559-en

Pan, W. H-L., & Chen, W-Y. (2020). How principal leadership facilitates teacher learning through teacher leadership: Determining the critical path. Educational Management Administrative and Leadership, 49(5), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220913553

Pringle, R. M., Dawson, K., & Ritzhaupt, A. D. (2015). Integrating science and technology: Using technological pedagogical content knowledge as a framework to study the practices of science teachers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(5), 648–662. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-015-9553-9

Qing, A. (2022). More than 80% of S’pore teachers say Covid-19 pandemic has hurt their mental health: Survey. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/more-than-80-of-teachers-say-the-pandemic-has-hurt-their-mental-health

Schermerhorn, J., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. M. (2000). Organizational behavior (7th ed.). Wiley.

Schott, C., van Roekel, H., & Tummers, L. G. (2020). Teacher leadership: A systematic review, methodological quality assessment and conceptual framework. Educational Research Review, 31, 100352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100352

Sebastian, J., Allensworth, E., & Huang, H. (2016). The role of teacher leadership in how principals influence classroom instruction and student learning. American Journal of Education, 123(1), 69–108. https://doi.org/10.1086/688169

Shen, J. P., Wu, H., Reeves, P., Zheng, Y. Z., Ryan, L., & Anderson, D. (2020). The association between teacher leadership and student achievement: A meta analysis. Educational Research Review, 31, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100357

Smart Nation and Digital Government Office. (2018). Smart Nation: The way forward executive summary. Retrieved from https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/files/publications/smart-nation-strategy-nov2018.pdf

Smart Nation Singapore. (2022). Milestones. Retrieved from https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/about-smart-nation/our-journey/milestones#1963

Smylie, M. A., & Eckert, J. (2017). Beyond superheroes and advocacy: The pathway of teacher leadership development. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 46(4), 556–577. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143217694893

Spillane, J. (2006). Distributed leadership. Jossey-Bass.

Supovitz, J., Sirinides, P., & May, H. (2010). How principals and peers influence teaching and learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(1), 31–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670509353043

Tan, J. (2020). Commentary: Teachers now have new jobs. Schools will never be normal again after COVID-19. Channel News Asia. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/teachers-coping-covid-19-coronavirus-new-roles-challenges-632276

Tee, M., & Lee, S. (2011). From socialisation to internalisation: Cultivating technological pedagogical content knowledge through problem-based learning. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(1), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.984

Teng, A. (2020). Parliament: teachers to get SkillsFuture road map and more support to hone their skills. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/parliament-teachers-to-get-skillsfuture-road-map-and-more-support-to-hone-their-skills

Vanvelzer, D. F. (2021). Assessment in higher education as a policy implementation issue: A case study of how actors and multi-level contextual factors influence assessment implementation at an institution in the UAE [(Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary]. https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/1880/113601/FinalDissertationDeanVanvelzer30039066.pdf?sequence=5

Voelkel, R. H. Jr., & Chrispeels, J. H. (2017). Understanding the link between professional learning communities and teacher collective efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 28(4), 505–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2017.1299015

Voogt, J., Fisser, P., Pareje Roblin, N., Tondeur, J., & van Braak, J. (2013). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A review of the literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(2), 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2012.00487.x

Wai-Cook, M. S-S. (2020). The reality of home-based learning during COVID-19: Roles of parents, teachers, and school administration in promoting self-directing learning. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 5(2), 86–92. https://doi.org/10.32674/jsard.v5iS2.2841

Wenner, J. A., & Campbell, T. (2017). The theoretical and empirical basis of teacher leadership: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 87(1), 134– 171. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316653478

World Economic Forum. (2018). Unlocking $100 Trillion for business and society from digital transformation. Retrieved from https://reports.weforum.org/digital-transformation/wp-content/blogs.dir/94/mp/files/pages/files/dti-executive-summary-20180510.pdf

York-Barr, J., & Duke, K. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 255–316. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074003255

Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in organizations (5th ed.). Prentice-Hall.

Zoellick, B., Auclair, M. M., & Kim, S. L. (2018). The power of invitation: Teacher leaders as agents of change. Maine Policy Review, 27(1), 46–53. https://doi.org/10.53558/HFYQ1780