LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY IN
LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Assessment One: Report
Assessment Brief
Assessment name: Report
Length: 1500 words (10% leeway above and below)
Unit Learning
Outcomes You will demonstrate the following Unit Learning Outcomes on the successful completion of this task:
Demonstrate knowledge of the key principles of leadership and management in practice in early childhood education and care services and settings underpinned by theoretical and practical perspectives on administration, management and leadership.
Demonstrate an understanding of how to build supportive and collaborative environments for children, parents, community and staff.
Critically reflect on the role that advocacy plays in early childhood education (locally, nationally and internationally) and identify the skills that a strong advocate for the ECEC profession should display.
Critically analyse and understand the role of the educational leader: including relationships, responsibilities, expectations, ethical practice and transition to an educational leader.
Task Description: For this assessment, you are required to write a report of 1500 words. The report can include tables, charts, figures, and/or graphs to illustrate your findings where necessary.
Write a report that responds to the following three tasks.
Identify and explain the key principles of a (one) leadership style that you aspire to follow and give some examples of how you aim to enact this leadership style on your immersion or professional experience placement.
Demonstrate your knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style.
Critically review how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families and staff.
The report must include:
A brief introduction of no more than 100 words outlining the purpose and content if the report.
A body of no more than 1320 words and broken into sections with short, appropriate headings (based upon the 3 tasks listed above).
A conclusion of no more than 80 words, highlighting the key findings.
A reference list that includes all sources of information used.
Rationale As an early childhood educator, it is important you have an understanding about leadership and your role as a leader.
Referencing APA 7th referencing format is required in Faculty of Education assessment tasks Libguide here: APA 7 Referencing.
A minimum of 10 references must be included in this assessment task, including the set text, National Quality Standard and the Early Years Learning Framework (V2.0).
Support Resources Academic Integrity University guidelines
Learning Zone workshops, Quick Guides, videos, study hub
Submission Late
Submission/Extension .
TCHR3004 Assessment 1 Rubric
Marking Criteria High Distinction+
High Distinction
Distinction
Credit
Pass
Fail
Identification and explanation of the key principles of a leadership style that you aspire to follow 20% Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding identification and explanation of the key principles of a leadership style that you aspire to follow. Identification and explanation of the key principles of a leadership style that you aspire to follow is articulated very well. Identification and explanation of the key principles of a leadership style that you aspire to follow is articulated clearly. Satisfactory identification and explanation of the key principles of a leadership style that you aspire to follow is articulated. Unsatisfactory identification and explanation of the key principles of a leadership style that you aspire to follow.
Provide examples of how you aim to enact this leadership style in practice
20% Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding examples of how you will enact this leadership style in practice Very good examples of how you will enact this leadership style in practice. Good examples of how you will enact this leadership style in practice Satisfactory examples of how you will enact this leadership style in practice Unsatisfactory examples of how you will enact this leadership style in practice
Knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style
20% Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding demonstration of knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style. Knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style has been clearly identified and articulated very well. Knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style has been clearly identified. Satisfactory knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style has been demonstrated. Unsatisfactory knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style has been demonstrated.
Critical review how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families and staff.
20% Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding critical review of how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families and staff. Critical review of how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families and staff has been demonstrated very well. Critical review of how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families and staff has been demonstrated clearly Satisfactory critical review of how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families and staff has been demonstrated. Unsatisfactory critical review of how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families
and staff has been demonstrated.
Links to the literature on leadership, the EYLF
(AGDE, 2022) and NQS
(ACECQA, 2020)
10% Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding inks made to the literature on leadership, the EYLF and NQS. Very good links to the literature on leadership, the EYLF and NQS. Clear links to the literature on leadership, the EYLF and NQS have been made. Satisfactory links made to the literature, EYLF and NQS. Unsatisfactory or no links have been made to the literature, EYLF and NQS.
Standard of writing and presentation - spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraph structure, APA
7th referencing style
10% Achieves all the criteria for a high distinction to an exemplary standard, without any errors. Outstanding standard of academic writing including APA 7. No errors evident. Clear and correct use of academic writing and APA 7 referencing. No errors evident. Clear and correct use of academic writing and APA 7 referencing. No errors evident. Academic writing and APA 7 referencing is mostly correct. Very minor errors are evident.
Poor academic writing including APA 7 referencing.
Errors are present.
Description of Grades
High Distinction:
The students performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements, demonstrates distinctive insight and ability in researching, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows exceptional ability to synthesise, integrate and evaluate knowledge. The students performance could be described as outstanding in relation to the learning requirements specified.
Distinction:
The students performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements, demonstrates distinctive insight and ability in researching, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts, and shows a well-developed ability to synthesise, integrate and evaluate knowledge. The students performance could be described as distinguished in relation to the learning requirements specified.
Credit:
The students performance, in addition to satisfying all of the basic learning requirements specified, demonstrates insight and ability in researching, analysing and applying relevant skills and concepts. The students performance could be described as competent in relation to the learning requirements specified.
Pass:
The students performance satisfies all of the basic learning requirements specified and provides a sound basis for proceeding to higher-level studies in the subject area. The students performance could be described as satisfactory in relation to the learning requirements specified.
Fail:
The students performance fails to satisfy the learning requirements specified.
Introduction
For many years, early childhood teachers and educators have believed that babies and young childrens learning and development has benefited from their active participation in an early childhood education program prior to school. It was only following the completion of the first component of a longitudinal study conducted in the United Kingdom that evidence confirmed this long-held belief. The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education [EPPE] study concluded that high-quality preschool experiences have positive effects on childrens intellectual and social development up to age 11 (Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford & Taggart, 2011). The research not only highlights the importance of quality early childhood preschool experience, but one-follow up inquiry titled: The Effective Leadership in the Early Years sector: The ELEYS (Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2007) also highlights the important link between leadership and quality outcomes in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The evidence from both of these studies provided the impetus for governments around the world to invest in early childhood education, and placed stronger emphasise on leadership. Understanding that leadership is one of the determining factors that helps to support positive learning and development outcomes for young children in education and care services, it is therefore important to understand what leadership is, and what it is not. This section begins conceptualising leadership, and specifically discussing what leadership looks like in an early childhood education and care service.
Activity 1.1 - Reflective Questions
Conceptualising Leadership
Leadership is not easy to define, there is no one agreed definition, and it becomes even more complex when we consider leadership in an ECEC service. Let us start by first looking at a few definitions about leadership more broadly.
Leadership is:
a relationship between people and the best leaders are those who are able to empower others - (National Quality Standard, DEEWR, 2009. p.171)
a process of moving a group of people in some direction through mostly non-coercive means (Kotter, 1990)
the process of interactive influence that occurs when, in a given context, some people accept someone as their leader to achieve common goals - (Alberto, 2016 p.4).
Based on these three definitions, you can see the common thread about leadership being that it is an action between people. How do these definitions compare to the definition you documented?
Activity 1.2: Discussion Forum
In the discussion board post your comments about a leader that inspires you? Why do they inspire you? How do they influence you?
Leadership in ECEC
Let us now consider leadership in our sector, ECEC.
Similar, to the problem faced by the business and school sector, the definition about leadership in ECEC also varies with no one agreed definition.
Rodd (2013) suggests that leadership is about vision and influence a process by which one person sets certain standards and expectations and influences the actions of others to behave in what is considered a desirable direction (p.11). This definition is similar to Whalley (2011) who suggests that the leader provides direction, offers a vision shared by others and inspires and demonstrates effective practice. Extracted from this weeks reading, Siraj and Hallet (2014) describe leadership in ECEC as a relational and communal concept where all can be a leader and engage in leadership, benefit from leadership and exercise power and individual agency (p.10). A differing conceptualisation is that leadership is a formal role in a setting. It is framed by three elements: the person (traits, values, personality), the context, and the position (formal leader) (Palethorpe, 2019; Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018; Wanigananayake et al., 2017).
Activity 1.3: Readings
Read the following two pages (Page 11 - 14 ) from Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. (2018).Occasional Paper 5 Leadership and management education care services.Note their conceptualisation of leadership.
https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/OccasionalPaper5-LeadershipManagementEducationCareServices.PDFCompare the above thinking about leadership with the following reading found in your MyReadings Tab by Siraj, I., & Hallet, E. (2014).Effective and Caring Leadership in the Early Years.Sage. Chapter 1. pp. 9 23.
Collect any points from the reading that you find interesting, confusing, or you want to clarify and bring to our discussion in theTutorial.
How was leadership defined in the readings?
Consider the definitions you have engaged with from your readings, how are these similar or different from your earlier definition about leadership in ECEC?
How has your thinking about leadership in ECEC changed or been affirmed?
Leadership in ECEC (what it is and what it looks like)
By now you should have a good understanding that leadership and leadership in early childhood education (ECEC) is complex with no agreed definition. Regardless, leadership is a professional responsibility of teachers and educators implementing quality early childhood programs (Waniganayake, 2017) with the aim ofQuality Area Seven: Governance and Leadershipunder The National Quality Standard (ACECQA, 2018) to support effective leadership and management of the service that leads to quality environments for childrens learning and development.
Committed to leadership, ECEC service teams will enact leadership in different ways. This is due to the fact that leadership is influenced by context (Palethorpe, 2019). Early childhood education and care services will have team members with different qualifications, experience, values, beliefs, and all of these factors will influence the local leadership. Further, the leadership will also be influenced by children, families, the governance of the service, ownership type, as well as the local community and society more generally.
Who are the leaders in ECEC?
An early childhood leader demonstrates passion, wisdom, has insight, and respect for children, families, colleagues and themselves. Such a view of leadership requires the leaders to have a commitment to, and a curiosity about learning as a lifelong process. (Waniganayake, 2017). Leaders can be anyone of us. If we consider the notion of influencing others towards a goal then at times dependent on the topic and your interest and / or understanding you can be a leader, and then at other times be a follower. Stamopoulos and Barblett (2018) suggest that all early childhood educators lead in some way, whether it is through their own professional and ethical practice or in a more formal role (p. 4).
Activity 1.4: Reflective Questions
Case Study
The case study demonstrates that it is possible for a student to use leadership skills to improve practice in an ECEC service to support children and adults learning and development.
Leaders and Followers
As demonstrated in the case study, intentional leaders are teachers and educators who engage in ethical practice by implementing leadership responsibilities in positive, purposeful ways. Such leaders demonstrate courage in their decisionmaking and find ways to collaborate with others to achieve collective goals (Waniganayake, 2017, p.13). The terms aspiring, emerging, and informal refer to those leaders who may not hold a leadership position but enact practices of leading.
This module has focused on leadership, leaders and leading. Much focus has been on the quality of the leader. However, leadership does not happen in isolation and it would be omiss not to highlight the importance of the relationship between leader and follower. Followers are the members of a service or organisation, that are influenced by the leader. Followers can be defined by their behaviours, following the actions or requirements of others. It is important to note, that leading and following is interchangeable, and dependant on the topic or context, the follower may step up to be the leader and vice versa (Brooker et al., 2021).
Positional Leaders
Leadership can be enacted by anybody at any time therefore we all have the ability of being a leader. Leaders can also be appointed to a leadership position. They may lead as a successful lead, and they may not. It is important to understand that just because a person is appointed to a leadership position, does not mean they are leading. I am sure you can think of a leader who was unable to lead, and did not influence others towards a collective goal!
The terms formal or positional leader refer to those leaders who hold a leadership position such as approved provider, nominated supervisor, director or educational leader (within the Australian context).
Role of gender stereotypes
The ECEC workforce is overwhelmingly female (97%), this means that only 3% of males are employed within the Australian sector (Productivity Commission, 2011). There are many reasons for this imbalance, including the perception that it is womens work, low levels of pay and status (Nutbrown, 2012) and sensitivities about child abuse (Siraj and Hallet, 2014). However, when men do become ECEC professionals, they are more likely to gain leadership promotions (Lumby and Coleman, 2007). This perhaps is due to a gender stereotype in society in which men are considered the dominate leaders, with one researcher suggesting that it may be due to their style of leadership (Eagly, 2013). If we consider the challenges and barriers men often face when entering the ECEC sector, it may be likely that they are some of our more passionate and dedicated team members. It then makes sense, that they may also be more likely to embrace opportunities for leadership positions or step up and lead.
Understanding ECEC Leadership Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships
Leadership will be different in each setting, however to be a successful leader, the leader must be intentional by considering the individual context of a service and create a harmonious organisational culture that enables a service to achieve its goals (Palethorpe, 2019; Waniganayake et al., 2017).
Unpacking quality leadership practice
In their Effective Leadership in the Early Years Sector [ELEYS] study, Siraj-Blatchford & Manni (2007) identified a range of effective leadership practice catergories in the quality settings from the Effective Preschool Education Project (EPPE) study (Sylva et al., 2011). Remember, this study was discussed in the introduction of this module. The centres within the EPPE study who supported young children to achieve the highest learning outcomes were studied to understand the leadership enacted in these centres.What were these centres doing that other centres were not doing. The study found that these centres had strong leadership and the following were the common leadership practices:
Identifying and articulating a collective vision
Ensuring shared understandings, meanings and goals building a common purpose
Effective communication providing transparency about expectations, practices and processes
Encouraging reflection critical reflection about teaching and practice providing the impetus for change and motivation for ongoing learning and development
Commitment to on-going professional development supporting staff to become critically reflective in their practice and to embrace opportunities for continued learning
Monitoring and assessing practice through collaborative dialogue and action research
Building a learning culture- establishing a community of learners
Encouraging and facilitating parent and community partnerships promoting achievement for all young children.
Distributed leadership strong leadership is often needed to develop high levels of collaboration and team work (to be discussed in Module 2).
What is a collective Vision?
A vision is the idealistic place or ultimate outcome. Waniganayake et al., (2017) simply suggest it is "the imagined future" (p.13). A clear vision, must exist to ensure an organisation can achieve its desired outcomes or goals. Siraj and Hallet (2014) suggest that a vision needs to be developed through collective discussion and that the vision needs to be clearly articulated so that it is understood by all, is convincing and compelling and connected to teaching. Once the vision is established and understood, teachers and educators can work together to develop goals for working towards the collective vision.
Watch this recruitment video by New South Wales Education about their vision.
Visions and valuesfromJobs & OpportunitiesonVimeo.
Being a good communicator is considered an essential skill of a good leader. In fact, Rodd (2013) suggests that leadership in ECEC is a matter of communication more than anything else (p. 63). A leader who communicates effectively is likely to command greater capacity for influencing others (Siraj and Hallet, 2014), as they can explicitly communicate the vision and understanding about why change is needed.
Activity 1.5 - Reflective Questions
Activity 1.6 - Reflective Questions
Leadership and management
In the last learning activity, you may or may not have considered tasks such as planning, performance management, budgets, or checking programming that were not included in the leadership list collated from the Early Years Sector Study centres. If you did consider these absent, then you have just confused management tasks with leadership tasks, an action that many students do. Tasks that are considered management, and those considered leadership have been a point of contention for decades. Although an older academic source, Jillian Rodd (2013) highlights clearly a comparison between what managers and leaders do. Both are inherently linked and interwoven tasks, however also different.
Rodd (2013) suggests: managers plan, organise coordinate and control. Whereas leaders give direction, offer inspiration, build team work, set an example and gain acceptance. Stamopoulos and Barblett (2018) also highlight the difference between these two notions, suggesting that people in management positions are often thought as maintaining the status quo by managing the functions of a business. Leadership, among other aspects, encourages people to focus on the future, posing questions of what could be and how to attain shared goals and aspirations (p. 9). In their thinking, Stamopoulos and Barblett (2018) have adapted the concepts about leadership and management from a number of authors including to provide further clarity to the ECEC sector about the notion of managing and leader (Daft & Pirola Merlo, 2009; Murray, 2010)
A Manager... A Leader...
Directs and controls Inspires and guides
Maintains status quo Creates and challenges status quo
Supervises and designates Empowers
Regulates Is visionary
Manages by goals and objectives Managers by interactions
Creates boundaries Reduces boundaries
Administers Innovates
Focuses on systems and structures Focuses on people
Takes a short-term view Takes a long-term view
To sum up, leadership emanates out of vision that is based on philosophy, values and beliefs, which in turn guides policy, day-to-day operation and innovation (Rodd, 2013).
Based on your understanding of Management and Leadership, go toQuality Area Seven: Governance and Leadership under the National Quality Standard (ACECQA, 2018)to examine each element and determine which ones are management and which ones are leadership.Bring your answers to the Tutorial.
Attributes and dispositions of an ECEC Leader
Earlier, you were asked in a learning activity to identify an ECEC leader that inspires you, and to think about their leadership characteristics. Let us continue to think about the personal attributes and qualities of a successful ECEC leader. Stamopoulos and Barblett (2018) highlight that early childhood leadership traits relate to the personal characteristics of an early childhood leader, these include honesty, integrity, collaboration, respect, flexibility, problem solving ability, ethical decision making, reflectiveness, responsiveness, confidence, being knowledgeable and having effective communication skills (pp. 10 -11).
Activity: 1.7 - Reading
Go to MyReadings and read this article about a small research study in New Zealand that identified a set of dispositions held by responsible early childhood leaders. Davitt, G., & Ryder, D. (2018). Dispositions of a responsible early childhood education leader: Voices from the field.Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice,33(1), 18 31.
Consider the characteristics of the ECEC leader you identified. Did you identify any characteristics that were identified as being important by Stamopoulos and Barblett (2018) and Davitt and Ryder (2018)? How might their research influence your future thinking about leadership?
Early Childhood Australia [ECA] is the largest child advocacy member organisation in Australia, committed to providing a voice for young children. Over the last decade this organisation has understood the importance of leadership and recognised the influence of context. Read their blog article, provided below, about what leadership looks like in ECEC settings and then go to MyReadings to read a few pages from another ECA resource.
What does leadership look like in early childhood settings?
As your first module draws to a close, two final readings are provided to you to actively read and consider what leadership looks like in ECEC.
The Spoke BlogGo to MyReadings and read Gibbs, L. (2021). Leadership as practice in ECEC settings.Research in Practice Series28 (4). pp. 5 - 8
From a different perspective, consider who are the leaders in ECEC services. Read page 12 18 of a report prepared and then published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] about Leadership for Quality Early Childhood Education and Care.
Read Douglass, A. (2019).Leadership for Quality Early Childhood Education and Care OECD Education Working Paper No. 211. OECD
OECD Working PaperActivity 1.8: Final Reflective Questions
Summary
Across this module we have looked at what leadership is within early childhood education and care. We discussed the differences between leadership and management and explored the attributes, dispositions and qualities of leaders in ECEC. Further, it was made clear, that everyone is a leader at times, and at other times a follower. Positional leaders such as the centre director, educational leader, room leads are appointed to their position often due to recognised knowledge, skills and holding the characteristics needed for leadership. However, just because you are appointed to a position does not mean you are a good leader, and influencing others towards collective goals. ThisSelf-accesscontent will be unpacked further during theTutorialwith practical examples and discussions around many of the activities covered. Please bring along your notes to theTutorialso we can have your many different perspectives on this interesting topic. We will also follow this in theWorkshopwith how all this connects to your assessment tasks.
References
Introduction
In Module 1 we explored some of the characteristics identified in research conducted in New Zealand by Davitt and Ryder (2018) that supports an understanding of six specific leadership dispositions of an ECEC leader and their leadership responsibilities, these included: a communicator; relationship focused; caring and supportive; a leader of growth and change, and a critical friend (p. 1). The first section of this Module, provides another view point of the leadership qualities for leading in ECEC.
Identifying leadership qualities in ECEC
There is no one personal profile that best describes an early childhood leader. However, as detailed in module 1 (dispositions), there are certain characteristics that are typically present in strong leaders. The qualities and skills that research considers highly desirable for early childhood leadership include honesty, integrity, collaboration, respect, flexibility, problem-solving ability, ethical decision making, reflectiveness, responsiveness, confidence, being knowledgeable and having effective communication skills (Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018).
Activity 2.1 According to Rodd (2013, p.16) Effective leaders demonstrate to capacity for the following attributes:
Activity 2.2: Watch and reflect
Watch the video below and think about the values and beliefs influencing your leadership.
In Module 1 you identified an ECEC leader. Let us revisit the leader you identified or select a different ECEC leader. Thinking about the leaders in our sector supports us to understand the qualities that make them a good leader, or not.
Examining leadership theory
This section explores the theories of leadership. Each theory has emerged and been adapted due to ongoing changes in organisations and in life more generally. For instance, consider what a workplace may have been like 100 years ago, 50 years ago and consider how organisations have had to change and pivot to survive in a new world affected by Covid19. Organisations are not static; therefore, leadership theories are constantly changing and influenced by new research and understandings.
It is important to state that there is no one perfect leadership theory and no perfect fit to meet the needs of all organisations. As you will remember from Module 1, leadership depends upon position, people, and context. Theories of leadership have been drawn mostly from business and military concepts, based on white middle-class male perceptions of leadership, so as you explore each of the following, consider how each style might be suitable or not, in an ECEC service.
Great man theory
One of the earliest conceptualisations of leadership suggests that leaders (mostly men) were born with heroic leadership traits and natural abilities related to power and influence (Daft, 2015). This model projected top-down boss style management, with power and control the enablers of leadership. During a period of rapid change between 1995 and 1998 (Blackmore & Sachs, 2007), a study about the experience of female leaders in three Australian education sectors (universities, TAFE institutes and schools) highlighted the strong influence of this great man theory still in action. During the reform, behaviours and practices associated with managerial masculinity became part of organisational culture. Behaviours included traditional authoritarianism (bullying and fear). This research was notable as it highlighted that this power over was not just used against women, but also affected men who were considered less tough. Leadership conceptualised as the lone heroic great man is concerning as it is not viewed as a role that can be enacted by many (Ladkin, 2010). Furthermore, it presents an image that most early childhood education and care professionals are unable to identify with or relate to, and thus as a consequence, strongly resist (Hard, 2005).
Trait and behavioural theories of leadership
Identification of the great man theory was followed by attempts to identify the characteristics of a good leader. First iterations of this theory implied that leaders were more intelligent, more capable and possessed different personality traits, including power and influence, than their followers (Daft, 2015). However, recent thinking about personality traits of effective leaders considers two types of categories: general personality traits such as integrity and trustworthiness, and task-related traits emerging from behavioural theories. Current understanding of trait and behaviour theories is reflected in most position descriptions developed for roles, such as ECEC professionals (directors, teachers and educators), which outline the traits and behaviours expected of the person holding the position (Dubrin et al., 2006). Research conducted by White & Lippitt (1990, cited in Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018) found that of all the characteristics, followers preferred leaders that used actions that were democratic (people oriented).
Situational leadership or contingency theories (Fiedler, 1964)
In contrast to trait theories, situational leadership suggests that no one leadership approach can suit all situations, and that adaptation of leadership styles and approaches is necessary to support the context in focus. Fiedler (1964) developed a contingency theory of leadership, which considers how the context influences the style of leadership required for the situation.
A good leader analyses the followers, task, context and situation and adjusts their leadership style accordingly. Note the emphasis on one leader. Despite acknowledgment of the influence of context on leadership, contingency theorists have developed a range of leadership capability frameworks. Rather than focusing on leadership style, capability frameworks focus on the general skills, roles and the capabilities good leaders require to undertake their work in various contexts.
The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (www.aitsl.edu.au) has developed National Standards for Principals that outline what principals are expected to know, understand and do to succeed in their work. Similarly, there is a leadership capability framework that sits within Early Childhood Australias Leadership Program, developed for early childhood education and care professionals. Although these tools are helpful, it is still important to remember that each situation is unique and leadership changes in each situation and does not stay the same.
The three leadership theories discussed so far are based on old thinking about leadership, in fact Rodd (2013) suggests these theories do not support an understanding of leadership needed in the 21st Century.
From a differing perspective, new leadership theories have emerged, which Daft (2017) describes as being from a new paradigm. These theories suggest leaders are:
working in uncertain workplaces
sharing power to increase organisational power and outputs
building teams and working collaboratively
embracing diversity
leading ethically and are held accountable and responsible, and
empowering whole teams and developing others to meet organisational goals, it is no longer just about the leader.
Transformational leadership
In his book Leadership (1978), James MacGregor Burns introduced transformational leadership as a process by which leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation (p. 20). Traditionally, the task of leading was seen as being accomplished through vision making: the leader establishing a vision and then motivating others to achieve that vision.
Transformational leadership has evolved from this traditional form, to now include collaborating with others in the process of co-designing the vision, and at the same time gaining collective ownership and motivation towards achieving the vision (Colmer, 2008; Fullan, 2006; Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2007). The notion of vision building is considered important in all leadership functions, including ECEC as it creates a sense of possibility for making a difference to childrens lives, and motivates professionals towards improved practice (Hard, Press, & Gibson, 2013; Press, 2012).
For many years, transformational leadership has been considered the ideal leadership model and continues to be highly regarded (Hard, 2005; Rodd, 2013), particularly because it is considered more reflective of feminine leadership styles. In a paper on leadership during times of reform, Fenech (2013) stressed the importance and fit between ECEC and transformational leadership. However, setting a collective vision and establishing goals is not sufficient. Bass and Riggo (2006), as well as Fullan (2006) warn that transformational leaders need to build the capacity of followers to enable the vision to be achieved, an activity that may provide challenge to some ECEC services, particularly with financial constraints, and workforce issues that often prevent ECEC professionals from attending professional development.
Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership considers the relationship between leader and follower (Daft, 2015). In simple terms, transactional leadership is about a trade between leader and follower. It could be argued that the western world is led by transactional leadership, as people go to work and, as a reward wages are received. You may have observed this in an ECEC centre where you have worked or visited. A service receives a certain rating in the Australian Assessment and Rating process (Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority, 2018), and the service manager receives a bonus. When reflecting upon this type of leadership for ECEC, it seems most suitable. However, at some point transactional leadership may be limited because once the transactions have occurred and the reward (such as the centre director bonus) is no longer relevant or desired, the purpose of the relationship ceases.
Leadership theories discussed so far, have been leader-centric, held by a single person. However, this notion of leadership is contested by some researchers (Colmer, 2008; Rodd, 2013; Waniganayake et al., 2012), who recognise the benefits of other ways of leading.
Distributed leadership
The notion of distributed leadership was first introduced by Gibb (1954) as an alternative to leadership by a single leader, with its accompanying emphasis on the person, their traits and personality. Instead, Gibbs believed leadership could be enacted by a group, and directed the focus of leadership on practice. Further thinking by Harris (2008) suggests that leadership in organisations results from multiple interactions by people at different points in an organisation. In schools, this means that leadership is distributed through positional leaders and teachers. She goes further to explain that distributed leadership is a form of lateral leadership where the practice of leadership is shared among organisational members, governed by the interactions of individuals rather than individual direction.
Similar views about distributed leadership also exist in ECEC, with this approach to leadership considered a natural fit (Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2007). Rodd (2013) suggests that distributed leadership focuses on growing knowledge and expertise through openly or subtly dispersed responsibility (p. 42). This idea is also supported by Ho (2011) who suggests it provides opportunity for empowerment of both ECEC professionals, and at times parents. From an Australian perspective, Colmer (2008) recommends that distributed leadership can also be enacted through leadership groups which are most suitable for ECEC, and foregrounds a distributed model as providing opportunity for autonomy and control around the decisions ECEC professionals make in their learning spaces.
Activity: 2.3 Read, view and reflect
Go to MyReadings to read:
Chapter 1 Guiding your program with a vision. While engaging with this reading, take the time to answer the questions embedded throughout the chapter. Carter, M., Casio, L., Curtis, D. (2020).The Visionary Director(3rd. Ed). Redleaf Press.
Click on this ACEQCA (2018) Occassional Paper 5. titledLeadership and Mangement Servicesand read pp. 1920 section on distributed leadership.
Watch the following video and think about the leadership beliefs, values and theories that you perceive are utilised by the educational leaders in this video.
Diverse Styles of Leadership
Leadership style relates to the manner in which leaders consistently behave, respond and interpret information (Dubrin, 2022). The style early childhood leaders adopt is based on professional beliefs, values, early childhood knowledge and skill and manner in which the leader may empower others to drive change (Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018). Dubrin (2022) suggests leadership styles it is one of the most important factors when working successfully with others, however also notes, that there is no one best or most effective leadership style. There is also a considerable amount of literature that would suggest that women have different leadership styles or enact leadership differently because of their gender, with it often stated that it is more relational focused, democratic (Merchant, 2012) or likely to be transformational of transactional (Chaluvadi, 2015). It is also worth considering that in most contemporary organisations, participative leadership or sharing decision making with team members and working with them side by side is most common (Dubrin, 2022; Dubrin et al., 2006).
Similar to leadership theories, leadership styles have evolved.
Kurt Lewin (1944) identified three leadership styles (first three), with transformational leadership style included over time. Styles include:
Authoritative or autocratic inspires with vision moving people towards shared goals however the leader makes the decision for the good of all and is not concerned by others attitudes. They are often considered task orientated.
Democratic or participatory leadership used to build and support collaboration and may take a vote before making a final decision, majority rules. Forms of participatory leadership include Consultative consult and confer with organisational members before making decisions however the leader has the final say. Consensus leaders strive for consensus amongst group members, a decision is not agreed upon until everyone supports the decision.
Laissez-faire is providing the power to team members and empowering them to accomplish tasks.
Transformational the leader inspires followers with a collective shared vision and empowers them to achieve it through the provision of agreed goals, training, coaching and mentoring.
The typology presented below by Neugenebauer (1985) specifically for early childhood contexts outlines four distinct styles of leadership including behaviours, key focuses and outcomes. You will see in the table that each style of leadership highlights the way in which leaders behave, respond and interpret the actions of others.
Neugebauers (1985) Typology of leadership styles
Leadership style Behaviour Focus Outcome
Taskmaster Authoritarian Getting the task completed Little emphasis on nurturing relationships
Comrade Friendly Little emphasis on tasks
Greater emphasis on relationships
Motivator Empowering Combination of relationships and high- quality practice High focus on relationships and practice
UnleaderInstructs people to complete work in their own way Leaves things to chance No monitoring or direction
Leading for quality
Leading change
Many inspirational quotes posted on social media or in books indicate that change is the one constant in life. Think about change you have experienced: a new mobile phone, a new member of the family, or changing coffee brands. From this, it could be assumed that achieving change is simple however, Fullan (2016) warns that bringing about sustainable change is a complex process that involves leaders motivating others to follow, engage in, and work towards a shared vision. Often, change involves a learning process and changed behaviours.
Change is simply making something different. We all change, and lead changes. In ECEC services, teachers and educators make changes daily, as they critically reflect about their teaching and practice as part of a cycle of continuous improvement.What did we do, what worked, what didnt work, how did this practice impact childrens learning, and how can we improve?
Change can also be far more complex and challenging, such as implementing policy reform. Over the last two decades the ECEC sector has undergone unprecedented policy reform, and further change is guaranteed. Recognising the responsibility of leaders to lead change, Rodd (2013, pp. 186-187) defines six key types of change.
Activity 2.4 Types of change
Activity 2.5 Read and respond
Go to MyReadings and engage with the following chapter to consider the types of change, and to engage with one change leadership model.
Read Chapter 2 Leading in times of change, pp. 3558.
Stamopoulos, E., & Barblett, L. ( 2018).Early childhood leadership in action. Evidence-based approaches for effective practice.Allen & Unwin.
ReadThe Educational Leader ResourceOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReaderpp. 4955, and 93101.
In Module 1 you were asked to read a section of this publication (pages 12 to 18). Revisit this working paper and now read pages 2123 fromLeadership for Quality Early Childhood Education and Care OECD Education Working Paper No. 211Activity 2.7: Reading
Go to MyReadings and read the following chapter about pedagogical leaders.
Semann, A., (2019). Pedagogical Leadership. Interrogating self in order to lead others. In S. Cheeseman & R. Walker (Eds.),Pedagogies for Leading Practice(p. 5164). Routledge.
Change leadership in ECEC often has a focus on pedagogy, definition discussed in the following section. Pedagogical leadership is somewhat the responsibility of all early childhood teachers and educators, and it is the core responsibility of the positional educational leader outlined within the Guide to the National Law and National Legislation (ACECQA; 2013) must be appointed to lead the development and implementation of the educational program (or curriculum) in the service and a thorough understanding of the Early Years Learning Framework and/or the Framework for School Age Care (or other approved learning framework) to be able to guide other educators [ECEC professionals] in their planning and reflection, and mentor colleagues in their implementation practices (p. 85). The focus of educational leadership in ECEC is about driving quality improvement through change and pedagogical leadership (discussed next).
Pedagogical leadership
To help understand the term pedagogical leadership, this section will first consider the meaning of pedagogy. Although widely used within Europe (Siraj-Blatchford, 2009) the term has only been adopted more broadly in recent times (Dahlberg et al., 1999), and misunderstanding about the meaning, common. Siraj-Blatchford (2010) and colleagues involved in the UK EPPE project defined pedagogy in ECEC as, the full set of instructional techniques and strategies that enable learning to take place in early childhood that provided opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions (pp. 149-150). Wood (2004) suggests the term pedagogy also includes how environments are designed, and the techniques and strategies used by ECEC professionals to provide for childrens learning.
Pedagogical leadership is an essential component of leading an educational organisation to improve the teaching and learning. The work of Waniganayake, et al. (2012) found that pedagogical leadership involves specialist knowledge about program planning, resourcing, engaging with children and families, and contributing to the understanding of the importance of early childhood education and care (p. 94). The leader therefore requires a strong understanding about pedagogy to lead and in order to lead pedagogical change within a service. Pedagogical leadership is about capacity building for children and also educators, achieved through the development of others. According to Fonsn (2013), pedagogical leadership is the core responsibility of leaders and is shared with other ECEC professionals. This is a notion supported by Semann (2019), who suggests that:effective pedagogical leadership is a collective journey, which includes all staff working together to identify strategic direction they hope to work towards, clarifying the support they require and creating spaces of democracy where discussions are centred on developing ideas together. (p. 55)Such leadership needs structure and time to enable educators to come together to discuss and reflect (Fonsn, 2013), and without guidance or clear expectations by government about the role of educational leader, or for time and structure, the work of the educational leader relies on the discretionary decisions of service providers to enable these opportunities.
Professional Ethics
Being an ethical leader means respecting the rights of others through ethical practice and decision-making. This requires courage to stand up for what is right, the strength to apply high moral principles and values in practice, and the acceptance of a professional code of ethics that is credible in the eyes of others. Ethical leaders action their social and ethical responsibilities when they engage with children, staff, families and the profession, and define their own standards through guidelines inherent in the ECA Code of Ethics.(Stamopoulos, cited in Barblett et al., 2017, p.82)
A code of ethics describes the values and behaviours of a profession and connects the ECEC professionals to speak with one united voice. The Code of Ethics for ECEC details the ethical responsibilities all ECEC professionals have given the importance of their work (Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2017). Many professional bodies have Code of Ethics, for example Code of Ethics for Teachers in Queensland.
Visit theECA Code of EthicsOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReaderto consider this document developed by Early Childhood Australia to guide the ECEC workforce. Compare and contrast this resource to theCode of Ethics for Teachers in QueenslandOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReaderproduced by the Queensland College of Teachers.
Often in codes of ethics there is a common thread of integrity, honesty, equity, trust, and respect the values that members of society would expect of educators working with young children (Rodd, 2013). Early childhood leaders and educators take action and speak out when faced with unethical behaviour. Educators understand the moral responsibility they have working with our youngest and most vulnerable children.
Activity 2.8: Reading
Go to MyReadings and read the chapter on professional ethics.
Rodd, J. (2013).Leadership in Early Childhood.Allen & Unwin. Chapter 13 pp. 243 257
Leadership decision-making
Making decisions are what leaders do, they plan, organise and guide members of ECEC services towards meeting agreed goals. Decision making involves a choice, guided by professional standards. Rodd (2013, p.130) suggests that decisions are effective to the extent that they meet the following criteria:
The resources of the group are fully utilised
Time is well used
The decision is correct or of high quality
All the required group members fully implement the decision
The problem-solving ability of the group the leader enhanced.
There are two categories of decisions: programmed decisions and non-programmed decisions. Programmed decisions are events that have often occurred before, or may occur regularly, therefore leaders know how to best deal with the situation and may have policies, procedures to support such events. Non-programmed decisions on the other hand, are often spontaneous event, perhaps ambiguous and require problem-solving to custom a response to the situation.
A Guide to making decisions
Activity 2.10: Reading
Read the Be You Fact Sheet Decision Making in Early Childhood and consider the decision making required to support childrens social and emotional development.
Activity 2.11: Final reflective activity
From your observations and professional experiences in early childhood, on the discussion board post your reflection and identify examples that show:
Connections between effective leadership and program quality
How educators in leadership positions demonstrate effective leadership
How respect for diversity is being represented and valued in leadership activities
Your first assessment requires you to identify and explain key principles of a leadership style (1) that you aspire to follow and justify how it aligns with your professional philosophy on leadership in the EC setting. To help you develop a professional philosophy on leadership consider the following resources and identify and record 5 beliefs or values you have about leadership in ECEC.
ACECQA have published this document to help services develop or review their service philosophy. Consider the questions and frame them in relation to your own professional philosophy. Jones and Shelton (2011) provide an example of a professional portfolio / philosophy, although old, worth viewing.
Summary
Across this module we have looked at what research considers are the characteristics of a strong leader in ECEC. We discussed the different leadership theories and styles. Further, it was made clear how important ethical behaviour and decision-making is by a leader.
ThisSelf-accesscontent will be unpacked further during theTutorialwith practical examples and discussions around many of the activities covered. Please bring along your notes to theTutorialso we can have your many different perspectives on this interesting topic. We will also follow this in theWorkshopwith how all this connects to your assessment tasks.
Introduction
As a student in this Unit, it is likely that you are passionate about working with children, and want to see their success. The video you just watched, highlightes the vision by the Centre for Policy Development. I am sure that many of us, connected to their ideals, and hoped that we could make a few changes - or all of their recommendations to better suppirt children, families and society. Think about something that you are so passionate about, that you are willing to promote or defend this person, item, process. It could be your child, it might be a childs right in a school to attend and belong, or it could be trying to protect an animal in a situation where you felt it was being harmed by another. Being an advocate means that you are driven to promote, protect and defend something including their rights, needs, and interests. Being an advocate involves understanding the issues, being informed and taking action. In this section, we consider the role of the ECEC professional in advocating for children, and systems that influence the child.
Defining advocacy in ECEC
According to Stamopoulos & Barblett (2018 p. 27) Activism suggests that early childhood leaders are politically aware and act to promote, impede or direct social, political, economic or environmental change to achieve positive outcomes for children, families and the profession. They understand the process of government at all levels and use local and national platforms to positively influence, lobby and change legislation and policy and challenge dominant discourses and assumptions. Advocacy, on the other hand, is considered the action of advocating, pleading for, or supporting a cause or proposal, and is an important element of early childhood leadership. Advocacy can be implemented within and outside of the early childhood context on behalf of individuals or groups or in partnership with others (Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018, p. 27). Chapter 4 will consider understanding advocacy in the early childhood setting and how professional support children to understand and enact their individual child rights. This module focuses on the idea of activitism and considers the role of organisations advocating for children.
Thinking back to our definition about activism, early childhood professionals are committed to examining the content or proposed reform and policy that target political, social and economic change that may impact children, families or the early learning sector to ensure it aligns with early childhood values, philsophies and evidence-based practice (Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018). Leaders can practice advocacy and activism at all levels of their personal and professional system: personal, within a service, and in the community. Joining or forming networks with early childhood professional organisations like Early Childhood Teachers Association (ECTA), Early Childhood Australia (ECA), or community groups focused on certain topics, such as environmental change, can assist to bring about change in the development of early childhood policy and initiatives.
Activity 3.1 Read, consider and reflect
Go to MyReadings and read the journal article titled: Conceptions of early childhood leadership: Driving new professionalism?
Then, consider the following questions and post your response on the Discussion Board.
Do you see yourself as an activist?
As an activist, what would you change and why?
How would you go about making this change?
Advocating for children and the system that surrounds them
When we are advocating on behalf of children, consider the child as part of a system that influences their development and learning. The Ecological System theory, theorised by Urie Bronfenbrenner (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) promotes a focus on the processes, person, context and time elements influencing a child.
Figure 1
Ecological System Theory
INCLUDEPICTURE "https://learn.scu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-6322688-dt-content-rid-75941394_2/xid-75941394_2" * MERGEFORMATINET
Santrock, 2008, p. 33
The diagram above, highlights the influence on each system impacting the child. This could be a positive impact, or negative.
If you are not familiar with Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological System Theory, watch this video to timing 5:05mins.
Activity 3.2 Apply knowledge
Being away of the barriers that impact optimal learning, development and well-being of children enables leaders to take action to address each of these issues. The Code of Ethics (ECA, 2019) includes the role of advocacy as an ethical responsibility of ECEC educators. Although the Code of Ethics (2019) is not mandated, it does call to action ECEC professionals to: Advocate for my [the ECEC] profession and the provision of quality education and care, and Advocate for the development and implementation of laws and policies that promote the rights and best interests of children and families (p.2)
In pioneering work on leadership in ECEC, Kagan and Hallmark (2001) suggested that leadership in this sector includes advocacy leadership. Developing a good knowledge and understanding of the sector and being a good communicator, creates a long-term vision of the future of early childhood education. This notion of knowledge is also recognised by Waniganayake et al., (2017) who suggest that educators must stay abreast of government policy to understand its impact on children and service delivery and to advocate for quality early learning, and for the rights of all children. Based on their thinking on this topic, Waniganayake et al., (2017) suggest that politics influences teaching and learning through: Curriculum development ECEC service types Attendance to ECEC Quality of the provision Professional staus of the worksforce
Understanding the policy, the sector and your local community must be a priority for the ECEC leader.
Activity 3.3: Read and consider
Read and consider this report summary that provides an understanding about Australian Children.
Review the Summaryand then the full document is available for your reference, Australian Children _ Full documentIdentifying the leaders role in advocating for children
Advocacy is one of the key functions of the ECEC leader. ECEC professionals keep up to date with all-of-government policies that affect the lives of children, families and the early childhood sector. Rodd (2013) suggests the next step is to respond to understandings of policy with committed action (p. 332). This may involve written letters to local politicians, working collaboratively in ECEC or community networks, and informing families of situations so that they can advocate themselves about issues that may affect them and their child.
Early Childhood Australia (ECA) has developed a webpage to describe How to Advocate as an Early Childhood Professional'. Take a look at their recommendations and consider the resources available to assist you in your role as an advocate and activist.
In the early childhood sector, several large not-for-profit ECEC organisations have committed to advocating for children, families and the ECEC sector.
Visit and review the advocacy position statements forHYPERLINK "https://www.goodstart.org.au/about-us/advocacy-at-goodstart" t "_blank"Goodstart Early LearningandCommunity Early Learning AustraliaOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReaderto understand their commitment and process.
Understanding your community
Researchers (Waniganayake et al., 2017; Stamopoulos & Barblett, 2018) highlight the importance of understanding your context when advocating for children, families and the ECEC sector. A simple way that you can get to know and understand your community is by researching and understanding the data about the population that your service is supporting. The Australian Early Census Data (AECD) provides a snapshot of children's development that can inform ECEC services, schools and communities and support planning, policy and action. The five AEDC domains include: Physical health, social comptence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills and communication.
Explore theAECD resultsfor your local community.
Activity 3.4 Research
Read about how the AECD can assist you in your role as an ECEC leader.https://www.aedc.gov.au/early-childhoodExplore the AECD results for your community:https://www.aedc.gov.au/Activity 3.5: Advocate for a child
You can make a difference for children, families and society by investing knowledge, support and with a kind and empathetic heart. What you do as a leader matters!
Activity 3.6: Reading and case study
Go to MyReadings and read Chapter 7 Leading Intentionally through Advocacy and Activism. What values and beliefs drive Sylvias advocacy and activism? p.122
Social-purpose organisations
World-wide, including Australia, there are many organisations that have been established with the purpose to advocate for children, families and in some case for ECEC. Explore the organisations presented to gain an understanding about what they do and how. This will be useful to support you with your work for Assessment 2. Click on the links below to visit each of these websites and take notes with Assessment 2 in mind.
Final Activity 3.7: Watch and reflect
In 2022, before the Federal election, the Mindaloo Foundation - Thrive by Five, supported the production and publication of the TED Talk. Watch Molly's TED talk and consider what the organisation was advocating for by circulating this TED Talk.
Summary
This module has introduced us to the notion of advocacy and activitism; activitism being politically aware and acting to promote policy so that it is beneficial for children, families and the ECEC sector; while advocacy about pleading for or supporting a proposal. Both roles, considered to be responsibilities of an ECEC leader, driven at a personal, service, or local community level. This module considered many organisations that advocate for children, families and the ECEC profession, useful to you as sudents in preparation for the final assessment for this module.
