Being and Becoming Early Childhood Leaders: Reflections on Leadership Studies in Early Childhood Education and the Future Leadership Research Agenda

In Australia, educational leadership studies emerged as a core area of study within early childhood bachelor degree courses during the 1990s. This inclusion was supported by findings from newly emerging research on leadership involving early childhood educators. A handful of Australian and Finnish scholars joined researchers based in the USA to actively research leadership focusing on the early childhood sector. In this paper, reflections on what has been achieved over the past two decades in promoting leadership studies in the early childhood sector is analysed as a starting point to evaluate learning and stimulate further discussion on additional work necessary in preparing future leaders. This analysis will be based on exploring key assumptions about distributed leadership models being favoured by policy planners and practitioners. In identifying gaps in our knowledge base, possibilities for further research are presented by drawing on developments in Australia and elsewhere as appropriate

Advancing Leadership Capacity: Preparation of Early Childhood Leaders in Australia Through a Coursework Masters Degree

In Australia, positional leadership in the Early Childhood (EC) sector is flourishing propelled by legislative obligations connected with the implementation of the National Quality Framework (ACECQA 2011a) requiring the employment of educational leaders in EC centres. This paper explores the preparation of EC leaders through postgraduate coursework studies at a masters level based on a content analysis of course information dealing with leadership and management of EC settings. Currently, there is limited research based evidence on the formal preparation of these educational leaders. Australian universities offer a range of coursework masters degrees focusing on educational leadership studies. The plethora of options available is confusing for those seeking employment as an educational leader in the EC sector. Findings reported in this paper provoke discussion about the relevance of postgraduate studies for advancing leadership capacity necessary in the EC sector

Investigating Teacher Leadership in ECE Centres in Finland

This study was aimed at investigating the enactment of teacher leadership in early childhood education (ECE) centres in Finland. Theoretically, the study was informed by the emerging scholarship of early childhood distributed pedagogical leadership and school based research on teacher leadership as well as classical theorizing of ECE leadership. Staff from three ECE centres participated as a purposive sample of informants in this study. The study involved participative observations of ECE staff comprising teachers and child care nurses as a research method. The analysis of findings suggested that the enactment of teacher leadership was strong in all three centres. The study identified three aspects of teacher leadership enactment. This work was highly dependent on the conditions and structures created for teacher leadership as well as the teachers’ attitudes in leading and improving pedagogical practice

Teacher Leadership Repertoires in the Context of Early Childhood Education Team Meetings in Finland

This study investigates teacher leadership in Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings in Finland. We used discursive analysis to investigate repertoires of teacher leaders during weekly team meetings organized by staff teams. In Finland, a staff team usually comprises of an ECE teacher – who is the team leader, and two childcare nurses. In this study ECE teachers are understood as being teacher leaders (Fairman & McKenzie, 2012). The study identifies four repertoires of teacher leadership: 1. collaborative teacher leadership; 2. supportive teacher leadership; 3. professional expertise; and 4. legitimation. Understanding teacher leadership is fundamental to enacting pedagogical leadership in staff teams at an ECE center. This study informs ECE teacher education on how to prepare teachers to take on leadership roles and responsibilities by developing appropriate knowledge and skills through the enactment of teacher leadership. In this way, this study contributes to pedagogical development within the ECE sector

Ethnic identification during early childhood : the role of parents and teachers

The primary purpose of this thesis is to examine the interconnections between the roles played by parents and teachers and children’s own sense of ethnic identification during early childhood. Although the study of ethnicity and multiculturalism received much attention during the 1980s associated research applicable within the Australian early childhood scene remains largely an unchartered territory. Much of the research todate has focussed on adults’ perceptions, paying little regard to children’s view of the world. This study is based on twenty-seven children aged between 5 to 8 years, descendants of Scottish, Finnish and Indian immigrants living in Canberra, Australia. To analyse the differences between the learning environments of home and school, a typology based on the participants’ perceptions of their roles is advanced. The findings confirm the view that ethnic identification is a product of socialisation processes and that its outcomes are difficult to predict. More importantly, there is evidence to suggest that the process of learning to be Scottish, Finnish or Indian does not follow a serial or linear path, progressing neatly from the home to the school. It was found that although parents and teachers can alter the context of learning, children’s capacity for independent thought and their everyday experiences with grandparents, siblings and peers, for instance, also contribute to children’s sense of ethnic identification. Hence, when examining the contexts of learning, both adult and child perspectives must be considered together

An exploratory study of gender and male teachers in early childhood education and care centres in China

This paper explores the impact of gender on the employment of men in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres through the voices of male and female early childhood teachers (ECTs) working in China. Gender imbalance in the ECEC workforce is a global phenomenon, and there has been little research about it in countries such as China. This study was based on online interviews with 16 ECTs from three major cities in China. Findings indicated that ECTs’ perceptions conformed largely with traditional gender stereotypes in Chinese culture. Western expectations that men’s participation in ECEC could challenge traditional gender stereotypes and promote gender diversity were not reflected in either Chinese academic literature reviewed or the participants’ views captured in this research. The appreciation of masculinity in Chinese culture and implied disadvantages are considered within a global context of empowering women and girls

The Role of Staff in Quality Improvement in Early Childhood

There is international recognition of the importance of high quality services for young children with a consensus that three pillars contribute to quality improvement: adult: child ratios, staff qualifications and group size. In Australia over the past 5 years, early childhood policy has attempted to drive improvements in early childhood service quality through national regulations for both adult: child ratios and qualifications. However, a review of early childhood history demonstrates that service quality in the past tended to depend more on the dedication of staff who were expected to be emotionally rewarded through their caring roles rather than from the pay and status associated with their work. The current political direction in Australia is now tending again towards this latter position. We review the literature associated with both positions in relation to quality improvement and flag our concerns for the future

Protocol for a mixed-methods investigation of quality improvement in early childhood education and care in Australia

International recognition of the early years as a crucial foundational period has led to the design and implementation of quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) that define, communicate, and monitor the components of quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The aim of these policies is to achieve effective quality assurance and improvement through a system-oriented approach to assessment and evaluation. Informed by ecological systems theory, this paper outlines a three-phase, mixed-methods design for researching a national sample of child care centres that showed overall improvement on the Australian National Quality Standard (NQS) assessment and rating (A&R) criteria. The study samples are drawn from a national dataset of centre-based child care services with two or more A&R rounds and an initial rating of Working Towards NQS (N = 1,935). The results of this study will provide insights into the macro-, exo-, meso- and micro-systems level factors and strategies that support quality in ECEC services