Abstract
The present study examined the impact of a leadership development program, Leading for Change (LfC) that focused on building the capacity of early educators to lead change as frontline leaders and change agents. Bringing together a relational-entrepreneurial leadership theory lens, the LfC was designed to foster early educators’ leadership mindset, knowledge, and skills that could potentially bring a long-lasting impact on many aspects of the early care and education (ECE) field. With a sample of 31 racially and linguistically diverse early educators, the present study compared participants’ entrepreneurial mindset, leadership competencies, and capacity to act as change agents and leaders before and after the LfC program. Results showed that participants’ perceptions of themselves as leaders were increased after completing the LfC. They also demonstrated more confidence in their own ability to drive positive change where they work and more broadly in the ECE field. Findings from this study suggest that the relational-entrepreneurial leadership approach taps into early educators’ insights, passions, and knowledge and equips them to participate in leadership for quality improvement and positive change.
Highlights
Effective leadership is a key driver of organizational performance and improvement
The present study was built on the work of Douglass (2018) and examined whether the relational-entrepreneurial leadership program has impacts on early educators’ entrepreneurial mindset, leadership competencies, and capacity to act as change agents and leaders
We found significant pre-post differences in terms of participants’ perception of defining themselves as leaders and change agents before and after the Leading for Change (LfC)
Summary
Until recently, leadership has been a relatively neglected lever for quality improvement in the early care and education (ECE) sector (Douglass 2017; Goffin & Daga, 2017). An emerging body of literature suggests that developing and strengthening effective leadership in ECE can yield positive outcomes by promoting quality teaching and learning experiences for children, supporting and retaining teaching staff, and engaging families as partners (Kirby et al, 2021). There is growing research and policy interest in promoting leadership from within the ECE workforce as a driver of quality improvement, innovation, and positive change (Kirby et al, 2021; New Venture Fund, 2018). According to Douglass (2018), educators who are inspired and energized as leaders and change agents are likely to engage in ongoing professional learning and innovation, which has the potential to improve the quality of programs and services they provide
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