Kindergarten teachers’ leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic: from uncertainty to practices of care and concern

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study sheds light on the professional leadership attitudes of kindergarten teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on their managerial practices in these times of chaos and crisis, and their presence as a type of pillar of stability. The main research question examines the leadership characteristics of these educational leaders, based on two main theoretical frames: the adaptive leadership style and the ethics of caring. The study population included 64 kindergarten teachers who had worked in Israel in different managerial and educational roles (kindergarten manager, full-time kindergarten teacher, and supplementary part-time kindergarten teacher) in the early childhood educational system during the pandemic. The research tool was an online questionnaire. The main finding of the study is that the participants conducted their leadership through augmented practices, as presented in the unique model that we developed specifically based on self-report analyses. Our findings indicate that the most dominant practice is the concern and caring practice. The Augmented Leadership Model also reflects the participants’ perception of their role as stable leaders, mostly towards their team, the parents, and the children. The main conclusion is that the leadership of kindergarten teachers has become a strong anchor of stability during this time of uncertainty.