On May 28, 2021, the third-year students from the College of Teacher Education (CTE) invited Dr. Khadijah Said Hashim from the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia, to conduct a webinar concerning educational leadership amid the new learning environment among 308 pre-service teachers from local and international schools from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines via Zoom.

The event is titled Leading Tomorrow: An International Webinar on Educational Leadership and bears the theme, Cultivating the Leaders Within and Responding Inclusively to the New Educational Milieu. During the talk, Dr. Hashim shares with the participants the practices and techniques from her school in the face of unavoidable challenges brought by the pandemic.

The speaker presented the topic of the teacher’s leadership in Malaysia and its relevance with the experience of other countries amid health crises. She pointed out that the role of teachers during the pandemic has changed to go beyond mere teaching and scaffolding into motivating students and ensuring their emotional well-being. “Because we are teaching humans, we need to consider the human part of our students as well,” said Dr. Hashim.

To realize what she said, the following strategies to lead students meaningfully were suggested: establishing a vision of academic success, creating a responsive learning space, empowering students with responsibilities, improving content and application, and combining high technology with traditional technology to meet all student needs.

Further, she articulated that “In moving forward as a teacher and a leader, improve and learn, if you want to sustain your teaching, relearn, and upskill, seize opportunities to know other people and culture.” Such a line captures the need continuously to evolve and learn from others considering similar and dissimilar experiences.

Meanwhile, the UIC’s Dean of College of Teacher Education, Dr. Lolly Jean C. Simbulas, applauded Dr. Hashim’s insightful presentation for providing enlightenment to students and faculty members alike. Moreover, Dr. Lolly affirmed that, as educational leaders, “all of us [teachers] need to ensure that your [students’] welfare are always on the top.”

Withal, Dr. Jo-Ann Y. Solomon, the UIC’s Vice President for Academics, in her closing speech, averred on the timeliness of Dr. Hashim’s discussion. “No one is ever prepared. However, having a positive attitude, correct practices, and techniques, educational leaders can become more prepared for the unexpected.” With the success of the webinar, Dr. Solomon commended the student organizers for their efforts.

Indeed, the shift to distance learning modality imposes challenges to all educational leaders. Nevertheless, amid physical limitations, it brought over numerous opportunities for collaboration and engagement with partners from all over the world. With this, Mr. Rene Babiera, Assistant Professor and Faculty of the College of Teacher Education, thanked Dr. Hashim and the delegates. They attended the event, as well as expressed openness for more collaborations in the future.

Written by: Heaven’s Angel Lapara