Leadership and Management Essay

Education is a very important institution due to the role it plays in transmitting social skills and knowledge required of any member of the society (Hofman, Gray & Daly, 2004). It is worth noting that the levels of development of a country’s education systems bears close correlation to the economic and social conditions that the said country will afford. It is therefore upon members of the society and the education system to ensure that members of the society achieve as much as possible from this system. High attainment in eduction is far much beneficial than low level education in the modern society due to the high level of educational attainment. A doctorate degree is currently what an undergraduate degree was in the 1990’s (Hofman, Gray & Daly, 2004). The level of educational attainment requires an individual to posses at least a masters degree to stand out among others. The need to stand above others and gain some advantage over them in the competitive job market is the main reason for my pursuance of a doctoral degree. In choosing educational leadership and management of higher institutions in Singapore the key consideration was my vocation. I have personally worked in the educational field in different capacity. Having served as an assistant head of international programs at Crestar institute, human resource management with a Christian association, lectured English at Kaplan city campus and being a full time consultant trainer at NTUC, my life has centred around management and higher institution of learning. Understanding the nature of higher education leadership and management in Singapore is therefore relevant to my career. Relevance of USQ Doctorate studies is about mastery and application of principles and theories studied in class. A doctorate graduate should be able to analyse and relate issues related to their area of specialisation by giving varied dimension. Doctorate graduates are expected to be above other levels not just in their approach to thinking but they must also display high levels of norms and values expected of the society (Mok, 2006). Mastery of principles that are relevant to the needs of the society, and the development of norms and values that are expected of the society are just but a few of the benefits expected of a USQ professional doctorate; it is thus clear that the program not only makes better specialists but also better members of the society by integrating the values of determination, team spirit and courage into the students. The role played by the education system just like any other social systems cannot be done by any other system. Propagation of social norms and development of skills that are relevant to the needs of the society are some of the objectives of the education system. Though the education systems is one of the oldest institution, the development of the higher educations sector in Singapore is a recent event. Singapore’s education system though quite organised as compared to its neighbours’ is faced with a number of challenges (Lee & Fredriksen, 2008). Most challenges in the education system can be traced to the management and leadership of the education system. Despite the education system being a social systems it still falls prey to the effects of partisan politic. The involvement of the central government on educational matter cannot be avoided since the education system is under the government’s care, however, the education system should be shielded from the negative effects of poor politics. Corruption lack of professional knowledge and nepotisms are some of the issue that affect the education systems at the low level. Researching on education management and leadership in higher education sector not only develops my research skills but also ensure awareness on issues that affect management and leadership of higher education sector and is therefore relevant to efficient delivery in future. Personal Capabilities Doctorate studies require good academic background and interest in the area of study. Determination defines me; level of education attainment and the nature of jobs that I have been involved in give me the experience and skills required to undertake a doctorate course. I am well versed in the management of the education system and problems faced by low level personnel like tutors and professors. My position places me in a situation where I can look at the issues from both the management and implementation level which is a capability that few have. My academic qualification is beyond question for I am a holder of a masters degree in education. I therefore possess the skills and qualification required of doctorate degree and there is no cause for worry on my abilities. Literature Review The education system thought critical to the development of the society is no stranger to controversy. Implementation of the education system goals has especially been under fire with some coming up with the view that the education system, just like any other social system is responsible for social reproduction (Kassem, Mufti & Robinson, 2006). The education systems is seen by such critics as a tool used by those in power to ensure they maintain their position while disregarding the needs of the less empowered. It is quite true that commercialisation of education has led to increase in levels of educational attainment. Increase in levels of educational attainment is characterised by increase in the cost of acquiring higher education. The costs of education at a level that is relevant to the development of technical skills required by the job market is high and borders exploitation (Kassem, Mufti & Robinson, 2006). Projection shows that the cost of education is likely to go up with increase in demand for education. This is blamed on commercialisation of education which has made it business like and therefore probe to the market forces of supply and demand the only differences being that the demand is always on a high. On the other hand, the commercialisation of education and strategies developed by the government and other stakeholders who are blamed for the problems facing education by social reproduction theorists is cited as the first step towards the development of the high education sector (Mok, 2006). Take China as an example, the reforms which included allowing privatisation of the higher education sector and formulation and implementation of cost sharing mechanism are cited as the key driving factors to the levels of development achieved (Mok, 2006).