Becoming an Early Childhood Teacher Leader and an Advocate for Social Justice: A Phenomenological Interview Study

Abstract

This phenomenological interview study identifies the insights and experiences of one early childhood teacher, Anna, through her recollection of becoming an early childhood teacher leader and an advocate for social justice. This study falls at the nexus of the literature in early childhood education (ECE), teacher leadership, and social justice as the researchers seek to understand the lived experiences of a teacher, who is committed to each of these three activities. As a result, the purpose of this exploratory study was to understand how the early childhood teacher might define, understand and play out leadership roles in her position. Two assertions emerge from the merging of themes into categories and categories into assertions. The first assertion describes the importance of experiences in childhood and how they are directly linked to the way one perceives, understands, and carries out leadership in early childhood settings. The second assertion outlines how the visions of leadership in early childhood may transcend the boundaries of the profession to include a vision for society. The study provokes teacher educators to identify ways to help future teachers understand their own experiences and how these experiences could energize their work as future early childhood teacher leaders.