Early childhood education teachers and leaders becoming the leadership(s)

Virpi Mettiäinen

doi:10.7577/rerm.1842

Abstract

Leadership research in early childhood education (ECE), and in education generally, has been bur-dened with the notion of effectiveness and how this effectiveness relates to the individual leader. Whereas in this paper, the author attempts thinking and becoming leadership assemblage by draw-ing on Mazzei (2013) use of Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of Body/Voice without Organs. As this conceptualization is closely connected to the notions of becoming and temporality, these aspects will also be discussed in this paper. Thinking together with these theoretical concepts, the author has worked with ECE teacher interviews and ECE leader discussions. This conceptualization can offer new understandings of temporality and becoming in educational leadership.

Highlights

There are two strands of thinking, which have allowed me to be(gin) here in the middle of things
Looking at the unfolding of time in educational leadership, it is often perceived as a linear curve, developing towards the good leadership by following certain models or steps (Gronn, 2003; Lord & Hall, 2005)
Eacott (2013; see English & Ehrich, 2015) voices concern over educational leadership research being often focused on leadership becoming an attribute of organizations demonstrating a high level of performance

Summary

Introduction

There are two strands of thinking, which have allowed me to be(gin) here in the middle of things. 734) describes desiring machine in relation to assemblages, as it can be perceived as a hub of connections and productions for plugging in forces, flows and intensities, as a “BwO that deterritorializes and offers the possibility of transformation, proliferation and becoming” It does not require human agency nor is there any subject behind the becoming and to think of a voice on the BwO only exists outside the subject as the connections and simultaneous lived times can only ever exceed the traditional notion of the individual and linear time (Mazzei, 2016). As a researcher of educational leadership, I am required to shift the focus on the force or flow of desire between offices, spaces, and leader/teacher bodies working together, into perceiving what becomes in this intra-action Through questioning these categories and the actual beginning of research, it might be possible to focus on inventing practices, which attempt to account for life that has a thickness and to begin with the things that will not let go (May, 2005)

Beginning in the middle

To conclude and begin and continue