Influence of Cultural Values on Singapore School Leadership

Abstract

The present study examines how Singapore school leadership is influenced by different cultural values. It employed a systematic review of 72 studies on Singapore school leadership published 2000–2021. Results showed that collectivistic values engendered moral leadership responsibilities while power distance and other Asian values eventuated in the nuanced implementation of distributed leadership. Four values characterizing Singapore society also shaped school leadership. First, meritocratic principles informed how school leaders allocated educational resources and opportunities in schools. Second, future-oriented school leaders focused on preparing students for 21st-century work. Third, the emphasis on achieving systems-level coherence culminated in ecological leadership across the Singapore education system. Fourth, strategically pragmatic Singapore school leaders implemented various leadership models to address complex educational expectations and needs. The confluence of different cultural values resulted in school leaders adopting a meta-strategic leadership perspective in Singapore. The study contributes to scholarship by providing an up-to-date, comprehensive review of Singapore school leadership, encompassing different forms of leadership enacted by all levels of school leaders, that is influenced by different cultural 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.