Reform Leaders Research Articles

Examining sustained sub-national health system development: experience from the Western Cape Province, South Africa, 1994-2016.

Governance and leadership are recognized as central to health system development in low- and middle-income countries, yet few existing studies consider the influence of multilevel governance systems. South Africa is one of the many (quasi-)federal states. Provincial governments have responsibility for managing health care delivery within national policy frameworks and norms. The early post-apartheid period saw country-wide efforts to address the apartheid legacy of health system inequity and inefficiency, but health system transformation subsequently stalled in many provinces. In contrast, the Western Cape provincial health department sustained service delivery reform and strengthened management processes over the period 1994-2016. This department can be considered a 'pocket of relative bureaucratic effectiveness': an organizational entity that, compared to others, is relatively effective in carrying out its functions in pursuit of the public good. This paper considers what factors enabled the development of the Western Cape health system in the period 1994-2016. Two phases of data collection entailed document review, participatory workshops, 43 in-depth interviews with purposively selected key informants from inside and outside the Western Cape and a structured survey testing initial insights (response rate 42%). Analysis included triangulation across data sets, comparison between the Western Cape and other provincial experience and deeper reflection on these experiences drawing on POE theory and public administration literature. The analysis highlights the Western Cape experience of stable and astute sub-national governance and leadership and the deepening of administrative and technical capacity over time-within a specific provincial historical and political economy context that sustained the separation of political and administrative powers. Multilevel governance systems can create the space for sub-national POEs to emerge in their mediation of wider political economy forces, generating spaces for skilled reform leaders to act in the public interest, support the emergence of distributed leadership and develop robust management processes.

Ambidextrous Leadership in Bureaucratic Reform: A Case Study at Immigration Office Class I Special TPI Surabaya

Surabaya Class I Special TPI Immigration Office won the title of Integrity Zone (ZI) in 2018, Corruption Free Zone (WBK) in 2019, and Clean and Serving Bureaucratic Area (WBBM) in 2020. This WBBM predicate has also been maintained twice. Problems arise with persistently maintaining the title amid current technological developments that require leaders to be creative and innovative while maintaining existing policies. For this reason, an alternative solution is to implement ambidextrous leadership. This research aims to identify the implementation of ambidextrous leadership in a case study at the Surabaya TPI Special Class I Immigration Office. The research method used is qualitative. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with 50 respondents at the executive level in the general, analyst, and examiner sections. Data analysis used thematic techniques, such as classifying data into several sections and then generalizing to get a comprehensive picture. The results showed that ambidextrous leadership was identified in three areas of bureaucratic reform, namely (1) the management area, (2) the HR management system, and (3) the area of improving the quality of public services.

Analysing the Necessity and Feasibility of English Teaching Reform in Colleges and Universities in the Context of Internationalisation

Under the background of global integration, in order to help college students better understand the world dynamics, grasp the pulse of the times, and communicate and dialogue with the world effectively, it is a general trend to carry out international education reform in college teaching. And English, as a language subject, is also the leader and promoter of international education reform. This paper discusses the necessity and feasibility of reforming English teaching in colleges and universities, aiming to promote the deepening reform of internationalisation of education, curriculum and teaching staff in colleges and universities.

Teaching Reform of Materials Science and Engineering Foundation under the Background of "Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutral"

Universities have always been pioneers, advocates and leaders of economic and social reform, and should play a key role in this systematic change. In July 2021, the Ministry of Education issued the Action Plan for Carbon-neutral Scientific and Technological Innovation in Institutions of Higher Learning, which clarified the major tasks for universities to provide scientific and technological support and talent support for the dual-carbon target. The first to realize the campus carbon neutral, and promote the carbon neutral scientific and technological innovation and the training of high-quality talents with the construction of campus environment, is a positive response to the national strategy and the action plan of the Ministry of Education. In the Work Plan for Strengthening the Construction of the Training System for Higher Education issued in May 2022, the Ministry of Education particularly stressed that universities should strengthen green and low-carbon education, strengthen the construction of teaching resources in the field of "dual-carbon", and promote the high-quality training of "dual-carbon" related professionals. The key to controlling dual carbon lies in material technology. Therefore, it is particularly important to cultivate materials professionals with dual carbon concepts and related technologies. Based on this, the members of our teaching group have carried out a series of teaching reforms for the course "Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering" based on years of frontline teaching experience. They have combined theoretical teaching and practical teaching, providing strong guarantees for cultivating competitive talents in the field of dual carbon control.

Analyzing the Challenges and Barriers to Develop State Civil Apparatus Competency Through Talent Management Development After the Release of the National Succession Planning System

Indonesia has transitioned from a public service management model to one to improve service delivery and competitiveness. However, this change faces challenges of efficiency in processes, human resource structures, and bureaucracy. Public distrust and State Civil Apparatus (ASN) non-compliance with the flow of reform pose challenges to increasing ASN competency and leadership reform. The implementation of breakthroughs in the development of public services still cannot prevent corruption both in regional and central government. Corruption does not only occur in the fiscal sector but also the ‘buying and selling’ positions due to the ASN’s low integrity. Regulation of the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform of the Republic of Indonesia Number 38 of 2017 concerning Competency Standards for State Civil Apparatus Positions requires that a State Civil Apparatus must have technical, managerial, and socio-cultural competence, which is constrained by the application of rules related to functional positions and career development, the institutionalization of the ASN’ workplace, and development of ASN training institutions. These constraints influence the ASN’s desire to develop. Thus, an integrated succession planning system for competency development which involves public participation is needed to prevent corruption, collusion, and nepotism in its implementation.

სკოლის მართვის პოლიტიკა: ლიდერის როლი სკოლის მართვაში

The article aims to establish the factors that have an influence on the transition of school management reform and to outline some of the common trends causing the policy change in this area. The analysis shows that there is a various set of studies covering different aspects of school management. Each of them responds to the issue of adopting school management reform from different angles. The policy perspective relates to school management reforms such as decentralization, autonomy, accountability or contextual changes. An increased focus (on learning outcomes and school improvement perspectives) recognizes the key role of leadership in education reform. The research among principals contributed the adoption of school management reforms. The school management policy perspective shows that countries have implemented reforms, with practices that vary across countries and contexts. Some reforms include a new public management agenda or the globalization of education policy. This review shows that there is a considerable amount of research on school leadership, but relatively less attention has been paid to policy research on effective school management. The paper first provides an overview of the role of school leaders and how has it evolved over the last decade, which serves to clarify the main reasons for the reforms. After the methodology are discussed the factors influencing the adoption of school leadership reforms. Specifically, how different fields of education research influence the development of the school leadership role. The article ends with a conclusion that discusses the factors that influence the implementation of school management reforms. It also provides important perspectives on the development of the role of principals: (1) school management reforms respond to the changing context of education and public school governance in terms of greater decentralization, accountability, and school outcomes; (2) School leadership has an indirect influence on education and schooling, which is considered for the implementation of various reforms and aimed at improving teaching, but does not seem to be itself considered a policy priority. In general, research of school management reforms was conducted in selected countries according to their educational opportunities.

Gabriela Mistral: Nourished by and Constructed from the Sap and Blood of Life

Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature and was a mentor to Pablo Neruda who also went on to become a Nobel laureate, yet Mistral’s work is rarely studied in English translation today. This article aims to bring attention to the author’s life and legacy, particularly through her diplomatic work and writing, with an emphasis on Mistral’s poetry in the hope of returning Gabriela Mistral to a place of distinction and standing that encourages future reading and study. Illustrative of the author’s voice, excerpts of Mistral’s work are woven throughout. The article traces key moments in Mistral’s life from childhood in the Elqui Valley of Chile through her years as a rural schoolteacher and onward to her position as a leader in education reform in Mexico. Through both her writing and diplomatic work, Mistral gained worldwide prominence. Her work through the League of Nations demonstrated an ongoing concern for human rights and especially for the rights of children and women in poverty and in the workplace. She was instrumental in the founding of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and an advocate for writers and artists and their crucial role in illuminating important societal issues. The article highlights Mistral’s 1937 talk before the Committee on Letters and Arts in Paris and addresses her connection with Pablo Neruda and the story of Juan Miguel, whom she adopted and called Yin-Yin; Yin-Yin died tragically at age seventeen. Finally, the article provides an overview of the life influences, themes, and timing of each of Mistral’s four major collections of poetry in their English translation by Doris Dana (1971): Desolation (1922), Tenderness (1924), Felling (1938) and Wine Press (1954).

Leading Complex Educational Change Via National Participative Reforms? A Case of Finnish Core Curriculum Reform Leadership

National-level educational administrators constantly face the question of how to ensure that the basic education system successfully meets complex local, national, international, and global challenges, and what is the best way to initiate and drive systemic changes in education amid such complexity and to create value for society. Studies have shown that participative approaches to reform leadership are beneficial; however, in practice, participative incentives are randomly used in national reform contexts. In this article, we present a Finnish case of national participative leadership regarding the Finnish Core Curriculum Reform of 2014 (hereafter FCCR2014). We interviewed key leaders in the FCCR2014 process (n = 23) and analyzed the data from social, personal, interpersonal, and organizational viewpoints with this question in mind: How did administrators responsible for leading the reform develop and lead the participative FCCR2014 process? Sub questions were: (1) What were their goals in developing and leading the reform, and (2) how did they succeed in developing and leading the reform in line with their goals—what was effective and what was not? The results show how participative leadership in a national curriculum reform calls for top leaders to include stakeholders, build and support strong and open collaboration processes, take the risk of losing some of their control, reject strict dichotomizations between strategy formulation and implementation, and consider change leadership a responsible act of giving stakeholders a fair chance to participate in the decision-making that affects their lives. Key aspects to participative leadership included building participation, not quasi-participation; building coherence in complexity—together; and fitting change to the education system with responsible leadership.

Life Trajectories in the Language Games of Islamic Reform and Pentecostalism in Cape Town

I present two individuals in Cape Town as they became religious leaders in Islamic reform and Christian Pentecostalism respectively. This essay pays at-tension to the place of charisma generated in their practices, how they relate to existing traditions and institutions, and how they introduce innovations over their life trajectories. Unlike most studies on Pentecostalism and Islamic reform, this essay analyses lesser-known leaders in their respective congregations and communities to illustrate what Wittgenstein has called a 'language game'. The latter offers a perspective on how individuals inhabit a movement without being constrained by it. The language games of these movements come alive in the life trajectories of my subjects.

Evaluation of nurse practitioners' roles and competencies among rheumatology nurses: Results of a national survey.

To investigate nurse practitioners' roles and competencies among rheumatology nurses in China, an online, cross-sectional survey was conducted between July 7 and 14, 2020 among the national cooperation group of nursing experts on management of rheumatic and immune diseases. A total of 796 valid questionnaires were returned and participants' mean total scores on the Nurse Practitioners' Roles and Competencies Scale (NPRCS) was 2.51 (SD = 0.55), indicating a medium level. Medical assistance, leadership reform, and clinical research had low scores in the six dimensions of the NPRCS. Nurse practitioners' roles and competencies in the area of rheumatology require improvement. Training should focus on medical assistance, leadership reform, and clinical research. The current study can provide a reference for an improved training framework of nursing practitioners in the rheumatology field.

Dethroning the Mao-era Elite, Clearing the Way for Reform

AbstractThe reform era began with the removal of Mao-era elites from leadership positions on a scale theretofore unseen in the People's Republic of China. Rather than depending on incentives to mobilize Mao-era cadres to support Reform and Opening, the new reform leadership brought in younger, better educated pro-reform elites. This article thus proposes a Personnel Model, in which the Communist Party brings in sympathetic cadres to implement major shifts in the Party line. Furthermore, personnel changes were first imposed on the military, then on the civilian apparatus. We show the large scale and rapid implementation of these reforms in 1982–1984 using an original database of over 60,000 cadres drawn from Organizational Histories.

Exploration leadership that advancing creative collaboration for teachers

Amidst China's robust push for aesthetic education reform, the emphasis on interdisciplinary and cross-specialty collaboration necessitates alterations to traditional collaboration frameworks, presenting fresh challenges for leadership. While most of today's schools have documented the closely knitted relationship between leadership and teacher collaboration in educational settings, very few attempts have been made to explore what competencies college leaders employ to infuse creative collaboration into the organizational culture and how this creative collaboration affects teachers’ work, especially under the aesthetic education reform in China. This research used qualitative case study and thematic analysis to explore leaders' competencies to promote creative collaboration in the organizational culture. This case study involved 10 participants from one College of Fine Arts in Henan, China, selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through 16 semi-structured interviews and the review of relevant documents. Findings reveal that the college dean employs an integrated leadership approach to foster positive creative collaboration among teachers. Findings were organized into the following themes: (i) Clear and decisive, collaboration-oriented organizational decision-making and guidance mechanisms; (ii) People-centric mindset: Fostering open and honest communication, creating a trusting environment; (iii) Maintenance and practice of integrity and responsibility; and finally (iv) Creating resources supporting and common goals to ignite teachers' passion for collaborative engagement. Valuable guidance in the leadership model for fostering positive teacher-creative collaboration for leaders in Chinese aesthetic education reform is provided based on these findings.

Политический интерес Российского государства к участию в образовательных реформах: проблема невысказанности

The article provides a forecast of the risks associated with plans to continue reforms in Russian education. For many years and to these days one source of risk is the absence in the fundamental documents regulating the process of reforming domestic education, the exact formulations of those state interests for the benefit of which the reforms are being carried out. Another source of risk is the contradiction between the radical -liberal formulations, with the help of which their goal is brought to Russian society in normative documents and public speeches of the leaders of educational reforms, and the conservative “reversal” that is observed today in the rest of Russian domestic and foreign policy. The main risk itself lies in the fact that the unspoken state interest in reforming the educational sphere can become a defining characteristic of the state strategy at the new, so far only planned stage of educational reforms.

Medicine in history and history in medicine: the inaugural Davis Coakley Memorial Lecture

Professor Davis Coakley (1946–2022) was an outstanding physician, historian, and leader of reform in medical services and education. This inaugural Davis Coakley Memorial Lecture, delivered in The Edward Worth Library at Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, on 28 September 2023, focuses on ‘Medicine in History & History in Medicine’. It explores the position of the physician-historian in medical historiography, discusses Coakley’s extensive historical work (especially his many books about the history of medicine), and concludes with comments about one of Coakley’s great interests: the work of Sir William Wilde (1815–1876). Sir William was a prominent Victorian doctor, father of playwright Oscar, and remarkably prescient commentator on public health in Ireland. Sir William’s comments about patterns of epidemics are especially arresting and relevant today in the immediate wake of COVID-19. Coakley’s interest in Sir William echoed Coakley’s broader commitment to medical care, progressive education, and genuine scholarship that shed light on suffering, illness, healing, and recovery. The fields of both medicine and history are greatly enriched by Coakley’s life and work.

宋人不言慶曆“新政”“新法”“變法”考———基於觀念史的個案研究

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 宋人雖常以“新法”“變法”“新政”賅括熙豐政事，但未曾以這些詞彙歸納慶曆之政；當代文史著作常言“慶曆新政”，這説法卻不見於清代以前文獻，原因何在？本文考析宋人慶曆書寫，指出：（1）熙豐變法時期宋人從未直接比較范、王改革主張，也不曾認爲慶曆、熙寧更革是可比的對象，這些聯繫待朱熹而後始。今人或曰熙豐變法之時，慶曆革新派趨於保守，這固屬當代觀點，卻非宋人認識；（2）范仲淹故後，對其顯有貶評者只有梅堯臣、宋神宗、王安石三例，後二者對范的批評，反映熙豐變法主事者並不完全認同慶曆改革；（3）歐陽修等慶曆當事人認爲范仲淹改革失敗皆因“群言營營，卒壞於成”，可是徽宗朝以後卻出現“慶曆之治”説法，其内涵又被簡化爲仁宗能“開納直言，善御群臣，賢必進，邪必退”。這説法無法揭示慶曆之政真正特色，又故意忽略慶曆改革主事者因“衆訾成波，擠落在外”的事實，卻有利於范仲淹作爲忠義第一人形象的建立；（4）宋人從不曾認爲慶曆之政有違祖宗之法，這是宋人不言慶曆“新”政的根本原因。南宋以後論者以范仲淹爲“守我宋之家法者”，進一步確立這觀點。
 When Song-Dynasty people summarized the political situation of the Xining (1068-1077) and Yuanfeng (1078-1085) eras, they used the terms “new laws,” “reform of laws,” and “new policies,” but the Qingli era (1041-1048) was never treated in the same way. The term “New Policies of the Qingli era” is commonly used in contemporary scholarship of Chinese history, but this term was not in existence in the literature before the Qing Dynasty. What is the reason for these phenomena? The present study analyzes Song people’s writing on Qingli and makes the following arguments:
 (1) During the Xining-Yuanfeng reform, Song people had never directly compared the reformist advocacy of Fan Zhongyan (989 1052) and that of Wang Anshi (1021-1086), nor had they ever considered the Qingli and Xining-Yuanfeng reforms comparable, until Zhu Xi (1130-1200) made such a comparison. Today’s view that the Qingli reform advocacy was deemed conservative during the Xining-Yuanfeng reform movement was never so perceived by Song people. (2) After Fan’s death, he was explicitly criticized by Mei Yaochen (1002-1060), Emperor Shenzong of the Song (r. 1067 1085), and Wang Anshi only. The criticisms by the latter two indicate that the Xining-Yuanfeng reform leaders did not completely agree with the Qingli reform. (3) Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) and the other leaders of the Qingli reform held that Fan’s failure was due to the extensive wave of criticisms the reform had triggered. However, during the reign of Emperor Huizong (r. 1100-1126), a positive view emerged, coming with it inarguable narratives that describe the reform as a sign of Emperor Renzong’s (r. 1022-1063) willingness to accept advice. Unable to reveal the Qingli reform’s true features, this opinion deliberately ignores the historical fact that the Qingli advocates were lambasted and thus demoted, but helps construct Fan’s personal image as a most loyal person. (4) Song people had never considered that the Qingli reform violated the ancestral custom of the Song Dynasty, and this is the very reason why they had never referred to it as “new policies.” This argument was further supported by the opinion of Southern Song critics, who viewed Fan as a protector of the traditional norms laid down by the ancestors of the Song Dynasty’s royal house.

Rewriting the Chicano Movement: New Histories of Mexican American Activism in the Civil Rights Era ed. by Mario T. García and Ellen McCracken

Reviewed by: Rewriting the Chicano Movement: New Histories of Mexican American Activism in the Civil Rights Era ed. by Mario T. García and Ellen McCracken Samantha M. Rodríguez Rewriting the Chicano Movement: New Histories of Mexican American Activism in the Civil Rights Era. Edited by Mario T. García and Ellen McCracken. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2021. Pp. 288. Illustrations, notes, index.) Emerging scholars have reevaluated the Chicana/o movement by grappling with its multidimensionality. Broadening its scope and scale, with a particular focus on obscured actors and elements, Rewriting the Chicano Movement contributes to the conversations brought forth by recent works such as Maylei Blackwell, María Cotera, and Dionne Espinoza's Chicana Movidas: New Narratives of Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era (University of Texas Press, 2018) and Mario T. García's The Chicano Movement: Perspectives from the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2014). This anthology foregrounds how murals served as social statements and shaped movement ideology; the value of testimonios (testimonies) in illuminating New Mexico activism and female leadership in educational reform; how fostering cultural memory, a sense of belonging, and potent symbols are just as valuable as political victories; and the ways public art spoke back against racist tropes targeting Chicanas/os in cinema and television. The articles on Texas further reveal the movement's multiple layers. Mario T. García extends his generational framework to highlight how the 1936 El Paso school strike was a forerunner to the educational blowouts in Texas and California in the 1960s and 1970s. The strike at San Jacinto School is notable for the use of direct action at a time when the League [End Page 596] of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) leveraged court rulings to combat injustices. As García notes, the student walkout refuted the idea that Mexican Americans were passive and inferior. As with the later blowouts, both Chicana/o students and their parents fought to get demands met. This multigenerational approach raises questions about the permeability of activist epochs. Generational cross-fertilization is also reflected in Tiffany Jazmin González's piece on Chicanas in the Texas political arena. Seasoned fighters such as Martha Cotera and Virginia Muzqúiz worked alongside younger activists such as María Elena Martínez and Irma Mireles not only to bolster the La Raza Unida Party (LRUP), but also to demonstrate the importance of the Latina/o vote. González charts Chicanas' interventions in both the Texas and National Women's Political Caucuses (TWPC, NWPC), and the corresponding political capital generated in the Mexican American Business and Professional Women's Association. Contentious fights over representation in TWPC and NWPC ultimately did not deter Chicanas; rather, they galvanized women such as Irma Rangel and María Cárdenas to break down gender and racial barriers in higher education as well as in local and state government. As González rightly points out, Chicanas laid the groundwork for effective Latina political organizing. Chicana involvement in LRUP was central to honing the skills and the political pressure necessary to maneuver the electoral arena. Without such third parties, how limited are Latinas in continuing this political legacy? The other work on the Texas Chicana/o movement in this collection addresses the multiethnic nature of resistance. Jesús Jesse Esparza analyzes the Chicana/o Moratorium in Houston to demonstrate motivations for resistance and to illuminate the strengths and limitations of coalitionbuilding. For many Chicano/a and African American youth, the military draft was a racist and classist system facilitated by the lack of college opportunities and the denial of deferment applications. As Esparza notes, excessive war casualty rates shared among Chicanos and African Americans allowed the two groups to come together and form alliances with White anti-war activists. Under the umbrella of the Houston chapter of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, the Mexican American Youth Organization and the Brown Berets played a key role in facilitating massive protests, which included African Americans and Whites, in Chicana/o neighborhoods. Aligned with other groups, Chicanas/os were able to amplify their demands and raise consciousness. However, Esparza reveals that the Houston Chicana/o Moratorium waned as the Students for a Democratic Society...

INFORMATIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND INTRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT FLOW IN THE CHUVASH REPUBLIC AT THE END OF THE XX – BEGINNING OF THE XXI century (organizational aspect)

The article is the first to investigate the designated scientific problem on the specifics of the process of public administration informatization and introduction of electronic document flow in Chuvashia through a comprehensive analysis of organizational decisions and activities of the Chuvash Republic authorities at the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century on introducing electronic document flow in the region. The state policy of the Chuvash Republic on the development of informatization and its infrastructure in the regional authorities is considered. The activities of Chuvashia’s authorities on implementing the policy of informatization are characterized. The organizational development of the state authorities of the Chuvash Republic responsible for the introduction of electronic document flow is clarified in detail. The historical experience shows that the organizational development of a new undertaking depended quite heavily on socio-political conditions, as well as on the “reform leaders”. A characteristic feature of informatization and electronic document flow development in the authorities of the Chuvash Republic at the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century is its use primarily by the regional executive authorities. Based on the generalization of the revealed historical experience, conclusions are drawn about the factors and characteristic features of the organizational basis development of electronic document flow in the authorities of the Chuvash Republic at the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century.

“Underprepared” Principals Leading Curriculum Reform in Lesotho

This qualitative study explores the views of six Lesotho primary school principals regarding the in-service training they received to implement the integrated curriculum. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who met the inclusion criteria in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. A document analysis of the integrated curriculum was conducted, and open-ended interviews were audio-taped, coded, and analysed using the thematic interpretive approach. Findings show that the participants were partially trained to lead the implementation of the new integrated curriculum. The participants reported that their training was shorter compared to that of the teachers. Furthermore, teachers were trained before the principals, compelling the principals to rely on the teachers for implementation information and strategies. The unique finding emerging from the current study is that principals in Lesotho had to learn the dynamics of implementing the new integrated curriculum from the teachers they were supervising. We conclude that having insufficient knowledge about curriculum reform disempowers school principals and holds potential threats to the implementation of new curriculum initiatives, not only in Lesotho but in many other centralised education systems. We recommend that policy reformers and curriculum supervisory authorities should adopt a renewed approach to empower principals with appropriate curriculum reform leadership skills.

Emotional tensions as rewards: An emerging teacher leader's identity construction in EFL textbook development

Textbook development plays an important role in teacher development and educational reforms. Although research has examined how textbook creation may afford teacher identity (re)formation, attention has rarely been given to how this process informs leadership identity construction, especially in times of educational change when leaders often serve dual roles: the role of seeking new teacher identity construction and the role of leader to guarantee the success of textbook development and thus the reform. The construction of both roles may involve great efforts to manage challenges and tensions encountered during the textbook creation process. Grounded in the Douglas Fir Group's (2016) framework of multilayered complexity of language development and situated in a Chinese higher education context, this 3‐year longitudinal case study examined how Gee, a newcomer in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching who also led the reform team, formed her identities as both an EAP teacher and a reform leader through her active tension engagement with an EAP textbook development process. Through Gee's narrations, we found that her emotional tensions were negotiated as a rewarding agentive resource for textbook development, from which she also learned to build her interactively co‐reinforcing EAP teacher and reform leader identities.

Josiah’s Reform as a Model of Leadership among the Servants in Batam based on 2 Kings 22-23:1-30

Reformist leadership is a term that refers to people who have a desire to carry out an act of change that is better than before. Reformers are defined as people who advocate reform or people who support reform. Practically reform is an action that leads to change for the better. So reformist leadership is in essence leadership towards change in accordance with God's will. In this study, an in-depth study of the explanatory and confirmatory studies of Josiah's reformist approach as a model of leadership based on 2 Kings 22-23:1-30 was carried out among the servants in Batam in order to ascertain the extent to which it is infused in leadership in Batam. Josiah’s story guides Christians to a critical dynamic in the way in which people, especially leaders lead their nations. Josiah constantly sought to do “right in the sight of God. Josiah’s enthusiasm, and determination to serve God faitfhully confirmed that it was indeed possible to do what God wills fully and his actions are a role-modeling behaviour for us. Josiah’s kingship greatly influenced the people of Israel but the core of his leadership stance is also important for the actions and even the lifestyles of ministry leaders, and others in leadership roles today.