A Bourdieusian Analysis of Good Practice Partnerships: Implications for Private, Voluntary and Independent Early Childcare Leaders

Samantha Mcmahon,Andrew Youde,Nicola Firth

doi:10.3390/educsci11110707

Abstract

This article applies the theoretical lens of Bourdieu to explore leadership and the distribution of power between teachers and early childhood practitioners in the private voluntary and independent (PVI) sector in a good practice partnership. It questions the effectiveness of such partnerships in bringing about sustained improvements to practice in this sector. Data were collected in three focus groups with practitioners from 10 settings that were recruited by a consortium of schools to the partnership to take part in a 10-week intervention. The findings showed that the power imbalance between teachers and early childhood practitioners cancelled out collaborative pedagogical models of leadership intended to underpin the good practice partnership. Furthermore, this power imbalance contributed to the lack of sustainability of the intervention. In conclusion, leadership practices need to be more closely aligned between early childhood practitioners and teachers by drawing on ideas of moral leadership elicited from a symbolic frame. The article has relevance for leaders operating in collaborative contexts where existing power imbalances are evident.

Highlights

This article explores the distribution of power between teachers in a consortium of schools and practitioners from the Private Voluntary and Independent (PVI) childcare sector during a collaborative intervention to improve boys’, aged 36–48 months, fine motor skills
The intervention was put in place as a result of a mandatory summative assessment (Early Years Foundation Stage Profile) (EYFSP) of children’s learning and development, in a Local Authority (LA) in the North of England, which had revealed an average 18% gap between girls and boys achieving a good level of development (GLD) in literacy, handwriting
The aim of the research was to explore the distribution of power between teachers and childcare practitioners in a good practice partnership

Summary

Introduction

This article explores the distribution of power between teachers in a consortium of schools and practitioners from the Private Voluntary and Independent (PVI) childcare sector during a collaborative intervention to improve boys’, aged 36–48 months, fine motor skills. The article examines the policy of good practice partnerships which might be understood as networks or collaborations including primary, nursery schools and the PVI sector and are identified by the government to develop childcare professionals and improve the quality of early years provision [1]. In these partnerships, teachers in schools have responsibility for leading quality improvement in the PVI sector. This has implications for leadership in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) context with this article considering these within the PVI sector. There are barriers to educational partnership work due to differing cultures, norms, values and routines [6,7], which this research explores within a UK early childcare context

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Conclusion