A Closer Look at Developing Positive Learning Climate in the Twenty-First Century: The Role of Instructional Leadership Practices

Abstract

Research carried out on effective schools have pointed out that school leadership is ranked as the second most important influence amongst school-related factors that affect student learning. As rightly cautioned by Hallinger, while research does serve its purpose in informing practices and “some parts of the ‘global’ (i.e. Western) knowledge base may be highly relevant across national and cultural contexts, we know little about which theories and findings are ‘universally’ applicable and which are context dependent” (p. 83). Other studies have also highlighted the need for researchers to take into consideration the contextual influences of the school, such as the school culture and student background. Indeed, educators often remark that certain theories, originating from the west, cannot be applied within the local context because both the system and the culture are different. Nevertheless, since researches such as those done by Dwyer and Hallinger and Murphy have indicated that successful school principals habitually engage in instructional leadership practices, it will be worthwhile investigating these practices in the context of Singapore so that policies and programmes such as the Leadership in Education Programme, attended by all would-be principals, can focus on the type of training that would bring about positive school outcomes.