A leadership strategy: Coaching, a Singaporean example

Abstract

The demand for recruiting and retaining early childhood teachers remains a challenging problem in the early childhood field in Singapore as well as in many other countries. A research study was devised to investigate if the use of a 'coaching approach' could bring about change in teachers' participation in their centre's management and organisational climate. The study involved 72 teachers and seven principals from seven, privately owned child care centres. A before-andafter study intervention was conducted over an 18-month period of time. Results showed significant statistical increases in that a coaching intervention had made a difference to both teachers and principals in their flexibility and openness to changing relationships within their centres. There was a statistically significant improvement in the principals' relationships, particularly how they listened to their staff and understood their concerns. The findings also showed that the role of a leader is critical in managing the change process.