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An education system can only be successful if it can develop future-ready learners who can continue to learn after graduation, take on their future lifework and thrive in the future society and environment. This article examines the economic, social and environmental trajectories of Singapore and proposes that it is important for future-ready learners to develop habits of practices that will support the skills, knowledge and values that are pertinent to these trajectories.

School leaders are responsible for creating environments and implementing practices that are conducive for fostering habits of practices that are crucial for future-ready outcomes. The authors discuss the inadequacies of traditional teaching and learning practices in supporting these habits and elucidate how newer paradigms such as constructivism, connectivism, coagency and communities of practice might be more useful in achieving this. The authors also present a case study of a school leadership preparation programme that aims to develop future-ready learners.

This paper provides insights into how newer paradigms of teaching and learning can be supportive for developing desirable habits of practices for future readiness.

This discussion piece introduces a fresh concept – habits of practices – that is relevant in preparing future-ready learners in Singapore.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the instructional leadership practices and structure in Singapore primary schools.

The study employs a qualitative approach. Data were collected from interviews of 30 Singapore primary school principals and 25 working-day observations of five principals. A grounded theory method was utilized to analyze the qualitative data.

The instructional leadership roles of principals can be categorized into four key themes: vision development and implementation, physical and organizational structure, professional development, and leading and managing instruction. Importantly, the study illuminates a hybrid structure of instructional leadership in which both hierarchical and heterarchical elements exist.

The current study expands the global knowledge base on instructional leadership by providing indigenous knowledge of how instructional leadership is enacted in Singapore schools. Simultaneously, this study suggests an agenda for future research on instructional leadership.

The purpose of this study is to examine the significance of knowledge management as a tool for firms to adapt to an ongoing unprecedented crisis. Moreover, in considering the knowledge-based view of the firm, the study will ascertain the impacts, lessons learnt and how firms envisage their future under the current unpredictable regime from the viewpoints of firm owners/managers.

A qualitative data collection approach was selected, with face-to-face and online interviews undertaken with owners/managers of 33 firms operating in Singapore.

The data analysis reveals as many as eight dimensions pertaining to impacts, lessons learnt and the envisioned future of the firms. The relevance of knowledge management emerged, for instance, in supporting firms and staff to overcome initial challenges after the crisis became apparent. Knowledge management was also an exemplar of lessons learnt, through new knowledge development, strengthening links with consumers, through operational skilfulness and awareness, as well as in explaining how firms envision their future. These findings also underscore key tenets of the knowledge-based view of the firm.

Conceptually, the proposed dimensions stemming from the three examined research questions, together with the propositions and theoretical framework, contribute to a deeper understanding of the links between knowledge management and how firms confront a severe crisis. Empirically, the findings’ highlighted associations with knowledge management elements to illuminate how firms address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the lessons learnt and the envisioned future of firms operating under severe crisis conditions.

The purpose of this study is to build an understanding of how firms operate under the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, the study examines the significance of firms’ survival for their surrounding community, business–community relations during this severe situation and factors helping firms address this unprecedented challenge. The conceptual tenets of stakeholder theory are considered.

A qualitative data collection approach was selected, with face-to-face and online interviews undertaken with owners and managers of 33 firms operating in Singapore.

Firstly, while survival during the current unprecedented crisis is perceived to be most important for the firms’ employees, owners/managers also perceive domino effects on other companies working alongside the participating firms, as well as effects on clients and suppliers. Secondly, increased collaboration with industry, stronger partnerships with suppliers and business partners and closer relationships with staff are highlighted during the crisis. Thirdly, key factors helping firms’ survival in the initial year of the crisis included: a clear goal; a cohesive/nimble staff team; reinventing, adapting and being resilient; and family support and management support.

This study contributes empirically and conceptually to the literature on firm adaptation and firm–community relationships during a severe crisis. Empirically, the findings and related dimensions provide practical guidance concerning the interdependence between firms and their stakeholders. Conceptually, the inductive analysis, which enabled the development of a theoretical framework, illustrates the relationships between the study’s emerging dimensions and those predicated by stakeholder theory, namely, the descriptive, instrumental, normative and managerial.

The purpose of this paper is to outline key findings from a contemporary review of the international empirical literature focused upon teacher leadership. It synthesises what is currently known about the nature, practice, conditions and impact of teacher leadership and to outline patterns in the contemporary empirical research base.

This review is based on an analysis of 150 empirical articles published in Scopus/SSCI-indexed journals between January 2003 and December 2017.

The paper draws upon this contemporary knowledge base to explore: contextual and methodological patterns of teacher leadership research; definitions of teacher leadership; and evidence on the enactment of teacher leadership, factors influencing teacher leadership and impacts of teacher leadership.

This paper highlights the progress and issues of the empirical research on teacher leadership since 2003 and identifies gaps in the knowledge base as well as areas for future scholarly enquiry.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine whether corporate insiders extract information from activity of outsiders, specifically the short sellers.

Using portfolio approach and Fama-MacBeth regressions, this study examines the relation between short interest and subsequent insider trading activities.

The following results are reported. First, there is a strong inverse relation between short selling and subsequent insider trading, which is partially due to common private information and same target firm characteristics. Second, insiders extract information from shorts. This information extraction effect is more pronounced for firms whose insiders have stronger incentives to extract shorts information (insider purchases, higher short sale constraints, and better information environments). Third, during the September 2008 shorting ban, the information extraction affect disappeared among the large banned firms, whose shorting activities were distorted.

The findings contradict the of-cited accusations corporate executives hold against short sellers. Instead, corporate insiders appear to trade in the same direction as suggested by shorting activities.

Among the vocal critics of short sellers are corporate insiders, who allege that short sellers beat down their stock prices. Many corporations even engage in stock repurchases to show confidence that the stock will perform well going forward despite the short sellers’ actions. This paper’s analysis on their personal portfolios suggests the other way around.

By focusing on how corporate insider trading is related to shorts information, this paper sheds new light on whether corporate decisions convey the true information the corporate insiders possess.

This chapter introduces a model for school libraries in Scotland, based on best practices as identified in the literature, and on five case studies undertaken in schools, two in the United States and three in Scotland. The research design was qualitative, and used grounded theory and multiple case study methods. The model represents an ideal set of circumstances for school libraries in Scotland, highlighting the interconnected web of influences that affect the success of a school library in meeting professional standards. These influences primarily fall in three areas: the school librarian, the school environment, and the professional support available to the librarian. The school librarian is the primary leader of the school library program, but factors in these other two areas can provide opportunities and barriers that can help or hinder the success of the library service. For instance, the findings suggest that school-based factors such as curriculum, scheduling, technology facilities, and staffing can have significant influence over the access the librarian has to teachers and students. Our model includes all three areas in describing a set of circumstances that would allow a school library program to thrive and meet the highest professional standards.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the startup models adopted by entrepreneurs in launching platform enterprises, and the effectiveness of business incubators across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Data reflecting origin, models, services, ownership and other variables were collected on over 600 platforms and 196 incubators, and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Market portfolio of the platform startups is dominated by independent models, as incubators and accelerators were found to be inadequate in platform establishment within the region in terms of the services rendered to incubatees. The results also indicate that private ownership still dominates the startup ecosystem with a scant presence of public participation and almost a complete absence of public-private partnerships.

This exploratory study is constrained by a limited access to information on the platform ecosystem within the SSA region, curbing the scope of empirical work; but serves as a foundation for further investigations within the domain.

The paper highlights the imperative for African Governments to make conscious efforts in driving enabling policies that will help bridge the gaps identified in facilitating the development of the region’s emergent platform economy.

The paper empirically elucidates the limited availability of critical resources necessary in supporting the successful development and growth of platform startups; and helps explain why the platform ecosystem within the region, though very active in the last decade, has not been laden with landmark and scaled innovations.