«… det er på veien man utvikler seg som leder»: Om lederutvikling i barnehagelærerutdanningen

Abstract

The revised National Guidelines for Kindergarten Teacher Education express an increased emphasis on progression in relationship to leadership in early childhood teacher education (ECTE). In this article, I focus on whether there is a need for further education in leadership in ECTE. The article presents a study in which the research material consists of 36 texts written by ECTE students in the course Leadership, Collaboration and Development at a Norwegian university. The study mainly builds on Biesta’s differentiation between three dimensions in education and pedagogy: qualification, socialization and subjectification, with a particular focus on subjectification. The main findings point toward the importance of student experiences in the practice field and uncertainty related to the leadership role, which seems to require a broad knowledge base. Based on these findings, I discuss whether there is too little focus on the leadership role and too little field training in the education to meet the need for the specialized knowledge of leadership. The study suggests that leadership skills may be better developed by allowing students to dwell more deeply in the student role, with the uncertainty and possible lack of experience it entails, rather than increasing the theoretical and experience­based knowledge in an education that is already burdened by subject­crowding.