System Leadership for Teacher Professional Learning in Non-tertiary Education of Macao

Schools across countries productively engage large-scale reform initiatives to achieve future-oriented education. System leaders are recognized as their strategic power to mobilize school improvement and scale system-wide education changes. Educational leadership enactments at the system level greatly shape teacher professional learning (TPL) and prepare teachers to engage in productive change. Although there is increasing research in system leadership in China, there has been no academic research into system leadership in Macao Special Administration Region, China (hereafter referred to Macao). This qualitative study explores how system leadership for TPL is enacted to boost teachers’ collective capacity in the reform contexts of Macao. Document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and a qualitative survey served as the major means of data collection. Iterative sequences of data analysis were conducted to generate supported conclusions of the research findings. Findings affirm a wide range of contextual roles enacted by various levels of system leaders. Their strategic enactments are diversified, portraying efforts into all-round sustainment of TPL. Cooperation and sound communication among system leaders features system leadership for TPL in non-tertiary education of Macao. Contributions and limitations of the research and recommendations for future research and practices are discussed.