This text discusses the professional development of academic developers. It is based on the authors' reflections and observations in the context of a semi-formal programme, "Strategic Academic Development," held for academic developers in different regions of the world. Most recently the programme participants were academic developers in…

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…

This article offers a global overview of the burgeoning field of micro-credentials and their relationship to lifelong learning, employability and new models of digital education. Although there is no globally accepted definition of micro-credentials, the term indicates smaller units of study, which are usually shorter than traditional forms of…

Today Singapore is the top or among the top performers in the world on a number of educational metrics. The country boasts the number one ranking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the highly visible and regarded international assessment conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)…

The early 1990s saw the emergence of a rapidly changing landscape of higher education in Singapore with influence from various trends internationally. This article shares on the embryonic stage of staff development in Singapore and the journey of encounters with SEDA pioneers who helped sow the seeds of understanding the true scholarship of…

Policy makers are often looking for solutions to develop their educational systems in today's highly competitive knowledge-based economy. Hargreaves and Shirley's Fourth Way provides a useful approach in analysing policy trends, successes and pitfalls, based on an observation of practices and research evidences in the west, particularly, the USA…

This article has two main objectives. It first outlines the first three waves of change termed by Hargreaves and Shirley (The Fourth Way: The inspiring future for educational change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, "2009") as the First, Second and Third Way that defined global educational policy and practice since the 1960s. It then…

In recent years, education systems around the world have been keeping a keen eye on rankings of student achievement as measured by internationally benchmarked tests. This has led to considerable attention being paid to teasing out success factors that may account for countries that have emerged top of the ranks or those that have shown the most…

"Leadership, Capacity Building and School Improvement" provides a fresh and original perspective on the most important issues confronting today's practitioners and academics in the field of educational leadership. New and exciting concepts are introduced such as the research-engaged school of the future. While its theoretical and…

Since independence in 1965, education and sport have been instrumental in Singapore's nation building, with a rapid rise in education and economic status. This article examines the roles of physical education and school sport in the local context and makes comparison with global themes ("instrumentality" and "marginality"). It…

Compulsory education was legislated in Singapore in 2000. This came several decades after the attainment of universal primary education and after numerous assertions on the part of the government that such legislation was unnecessary. Also interesting is that the period of compulsory education was limited to six years. The article discusses the…

In Singapore, "decentralization" and "school-based reforms" are key words within the current education reform agenda. This article argues that a key success factor in this agenda is transformational leadership in school. With more autonomy given to the school, transformational leadership at the school level will facilitate the…

Prior to 1960 vocational and technical education in Singapore received little attention. After Singapore attained self-government in 1959, a policy of diversification to accelerate economic growth through industrialization was adopted. The emphasis then shifted to technical education and training. In 1964 there was a significant move towards the…

The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the total system of technological education in Singapore. The educational system, its history, and its response to technological needs are first briefly described. A discussion follows of the evolution of the various infrastructures, including the National University of Singapore,…

Schools in Singapore are now tasked to develop the spirit of innovation and enterprise in their students. This is in line with the national vision of "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation". This policy initiative, which began in 2004, is set to change the fundamental nature of education in Singapore. This article discusses the innovation…