Student Management & Leadership

Student Leadership Development

Overview

To navigate the increasingly VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, leaders are needed in every domain. However, traditional definitions of leadership as the domain of a few experts in positions of authority no longer hold. At TKPS, we see leadership as a set of values, traits and competencies that can be developed in every student. Student leadership development at TKPS focuses on first growing the self-leadership dimension to cultivate habits that lead to self-mastery and personal effectiveness. This lays the foundation for the development of team leadership as the student matures.

Our Beliefs & Guiding Principles

In TKPS, every student is a leader. Therefore, the SLD programme is intentionally designed to facilitate students to discover the leader within themselves. Hence, the SLD philosophy in the following:

a. Every student can be developed as a leader

Every TKPS student possesses a unique blend of abilities, inclinations and talents, and has the potential to be developed as a leader. He/She is able to make a positive difference in his/her own right within his/her sphere of influence, and be a leader. At the end of six years of primary education, a TKPS student will discover his/her unique value as a leader.

b. Leadership development goes beyond developing the self, to impact those around us, the community and the world

Student leadership in TKPS entails having the confidence to take the initiative to make a positive difference. All can and should proactively strive to make a positive difference within one’s sphere of influence. Beyond the self and the community, this will ultimately make a difference for Singapore.

c. Student Leadership Development is intentional

While incidental leadership learning can occur across all platforms, only intentional student leadership development will ensure all students are equipped with the requisite competencies for effective leadership. TKPS is intentional about designing and delivering SLD programmes that provide differentiated leadership development for students according to student capacity and interest.

Student Leadership Development (SLD) Framework @ TKPS

SLD Framework @TKPS is comprises three strategic focuses – leading self, leading peers and leading teams. SLD@TKPS serves like a compass of values which provides multiple avenues for students to explore their everyday experiences, discover their strengths, test their limits, engage in reflection and eventually develop their leadership skills from within. This process enables student leaders to navigate and discover their true north that leads them to the rainbow of true leadership. The rainbow represents a spectrum of leadership competencies which students can develop and become student leaders who can proactively strive to make a positive difference within their sphere of influence. As a result, student leaders form the pillars of the school. Ultimately, SLD@TKPS aims to develop student leaders to be a TRUE leader who are able to T hink critically, R eflect to develop greater U nderstanding and E ncourage others to be active contributors.

Approach

SLD@TKPS uses The Leadership Challenge Model, developed by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. It approaches leadership as a set of learnable and teachable behaviours, encapsulated by the Five Practices, Ten Commitment of Exemplary Leadership and Thirty Leadership Practices Behaviour Statements. SLD@TKPS will have progressive training to develop these leadership competencies for students and different student leader segments.

Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership

Model The Way
Inspired A Shared Vision
Challenge The Process
Enable Others To Act
Encourage The Heart

These behaviours are what leaders are consistently engaging in when they are performing at their best and achieving extraordinary results. This tool will enable TKPS student leaders to chart their own leadership journey and hone their leadership competencies.