A Comparison of the Use of Strategic Thinking Skills of Aspiring School Leaders in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Shanghai, and the United States: An Exploratory Study

Cognition is the way we use mental skills to acquire knowledge, manipulate ideas, and process new information and beliefs. The Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQ), which measures three such skills--systems thinking-reframing-reflection, was used to collect data from students preparing for school leadership roles at four universities in the United States (USA), Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. It was thought that the use of these skills might vary from country to country because of western and eastern cultural norms. Based on self-reported data from 328 educators preparing for school leadership roles we concluded that the use of strategic thinking skills were found in all locations but the variance in their use is more a function of age of respondents, and gender rather than location. These findings have implications for training, professional development, and selection of aspiring leaders.