Purpose: Leadership for the implementation of an educational innovation in Singapore was examined by integrating distributed leadership with an ecological perspective of leadership and analysed using the third generation of cultural-historical activity theory. Research Method: The study adopted the naturalistic inquiry approach of a case study of…

The 21st century education requires schools to provide students with better support in their learning. One way to facilitate this change is through school-based curriculum development (SBCD). Much in the literature talked about SBCD outcomes on respective key stakeholders in schools, but little has been said about the interactions amongst the…

This article conceptualises how disruptions to conventional teaching models may lead to innovative practice. We have identified a gap in current knowledge around how innovations in higher education teaching and learning are initiated in times of crises. Disruptive Innovation Theory and Roger's Diffusion of Innovation Theory are used as lenses to…

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…

Grounded in our work on analysing teacher learning communities as they evolve from traditional learning epistemologies towards constructivist orientations and progressive, inquiry-driven pedagogies (Hung et al., J Interactive Learn Res 17:37-55, 2006; Hung et al., Educ Technol 55:20-26, 2015; Shaari et al., in press; Wu and Hung, Transforming…

The current generation of children must grow up with different competencies to thrive in this highly complex and interconnected world. Amongst others, we need to equip them with twenty-first century skills that include curiosity, self-direction, creativity, innovation, and an inquiring mindset. We are short-changing our children if we teach them…

In education systems with strong student performance, teaching is a highly-respected, well-supported profession. This view, backed by policy and investment, leads to the recruitment of top candidates into teaching and high retention of teachers and leaders in schools, both of which are critical for educational excellence. Looking at the strategic…

The Singapore education system provides all schools with opportunities to innovate through educational interventions. Based on a review of research work in innovation diffusion in Singapore schools from 2013 to 2017, we have developed the SCAEL model- a context-sensitive translational and scaling framework that can translate theories to practices…

The key challenge in Singapore education reforms centres on finding the right balance between centralization and decentralization. An offshoot from such balancing act is the necessity for school-based curriculum development and innovation, along with appropriate support for it. Primary among the support is instructional and/or curriculum…

The task of school leadership has never been less challenging than before especially taking into consideration current education reforms that demand extensive, comprehensive and in-depth changes. At the ground level, schools as organizations are now engulfed in this sea of change characterized by increasing rapidity, intensity, fluidity,…

Information technology has a revolutionary impact on the development of education. Therefore, it is a strategic choice to comprehensively respond to educational development challenges in the information age to promote the modernization of education with education informatization. Countries worldwide have begun to attach importance to the…

The more ambitious an educational innovation, the greater the challenge in scaling up. In this paper, we focus on the scaling up of an ambitious pedagogical practice--mathematics problem solving as a regular feature in the classroom. We adopt a long-term approach to continual professional development (CPD) that began with intensive work with one…

A key emphasis of the Singapore education system has been on ensuring English language competency and fluency for communication and work. This chapter examines reading innovation in the Singapore education system, focusing specifically on strategies related to extensive reading to promote reading enjoyment alongside growing reading proficiency.…

Studying the processes involved in scaling technologically-mediated pedagogical innovations has moved into understanding how wider contexts relate to qualitative outcomes (depth, shift in reform ownership and spread). Understanding patterns in this relationship has been complicated by the diverse outcomes for a single innovation. This study…

This paper compares the evolution of two initiatives--one in Singapore and one in New York City--designed expressly to support the development and spread of new and innovative school models. These two initiatives--Future Schools in Singapore and the iZone in New York City--reflected the hope that new school models and associated innovations could…