An exploratory study of early childhood leadership in Singapore from the context of policy-to-practice

Early childhood education in Singapore has undergone a transformation following multiple policy initiatives implemented over the last decade. Increased government engagement in the development of the sector has resulted in the establishment of two national agencies, the development of sector-specific skill frameworks, the passing of regulatory legislation and a series of programme initiatives with the aim of improving accessibility, affordability, and the quality of early childhood education. Early childhood education centre leaders too, have played an instrumental role in translating these policy initiatives to on-the-ground practice. These changes have required leaders to continually adapt their operations to meet the demands and challenges which accompany such new initiatives. The largely marketised early childhood sector, the progressive increase in the number of early childhood centres, the competition for student enrolment and the ongoing lack of qualified staff, have compounded the challenges that centre leaders have to cope with, in addition to their daily operational work. This study examines the perspectives of early childhood leadership during a critical period of change. It adopts a mixed-method, multiple case study site approach to provide a thick and rich description of early childhood leadership in practice. Adopting Bowe, Ball and Gold’s (1992) trajectory model of policymaking as its theoretical framework, it seeks to shed light on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of leadership as seen through the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. The study supports the current conceptualisation of early childhood leadership as contextually defined and builds upon existing literature in a situational and socially constructed frame to understand leadership work. It also seeks to challenge Singapore policymakers to broaden their definition of leadership and adopt a relationally driven approach to build leadership capacity. The findings define political, structural, social, and cultural factors that have contributed to the challenges of leadership enactment within Singapore’s early childhood landscape. They also suggest the emergence of an early childhood leadership community, grappling with its professional identity amidst the lengthening shadow of the government’s hand in the sector