Early Childhood Leadership Research Articles

Leadership in early childhood education: case studies of Indonesian public kindergartens

ABSTRACT Leadership studies in early childhood education (ECE) have increased throughout the world. However, there has been only a limited amount of research conducted on this topic in Southeast Asia. The purpose of the research reported in this article was to examine early childhood leadership at the kindergarten level in Indonesia. This is an exploratory study of multiple cases in Indonesia, involving semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The participants were interviewed online in four regions: the capital (Jakarta), the central part (Bali), the western part (North Sumatra) and the eastern part (South Sulawesi), an example of maximum variation sampling. There were 10 participants in each case study kindergarten, heads, teachers, teaching assistants, administrative assistants, parents and local education officers. The research shows that leadership of ECE in Indonesia is problematic, beginning with the selection process for principals, which is dominated by political considerations. Heads also appeared to be overburdened with administrative duties, such as managing budgets, updating teacher and student data, and managing assets. Therefore, they have less time to engage in other Leadership activities, such as professional leadership and parental involvement. The findings contribute to a better understanding of kindergarten leadership in Indonesia.

How do early childhood education leaders shape professional learning communities?

ABSTRACT This study examined how early childhood leaders working simultaneously as kindergarten teachers perceive the professional learning communities they lead – explicitly identifying the factors that promote or hinder the communities’ development from the leader’s point of view. A qualitative-phenomenological approach was applied using semi-structured interviews of ten early childhood leaders. Factors that contributed to a community’s successful functioning were discussions on practices and real-life dilemmas, active involvement of teachers in community meetings, and creating an atmosphere based on trust and closeness. On the other hand, hindering factors were essentially allocated time to transferring agendas and information from superintendents and limited collaborative culture among teachers beyond community meetings. The findings highlight the considerable potential of professional communities for providing significant assistance to kindergarten teachers to promote children’s education. Nevertheless, leaders need more autonomy in determining the content of meetings and additional knowledge and strategies to strengthen pedagogical collaborations between community participants.

The Working Conditions and Well-being of Early Childhood Leaders in the United States

The Working Conditions and Well-being of Early Childhood Leaders in the United States

Using Teacher Prompts to Increase Leadership Skills in Preschool Children

Abstract Background Early childhood leadership leads to positive outcomes for young children, including social competence. Objective The purpose of the present study was to examine the leadership behavior exhibited by three preschool aged children and to determine if teacher prompting could increase the frequency of leadership behaviors exhibited by preschool children. Methods A single case research design was utilized; specifically, we employed a multiple baseline design across preschool children to measure child leadership behaviors and teacher prompting. Results Baseline observations revealed that children engaged in Parten’s original 1933 framework of both directing and following, reciprocally directing or sharing leadership, and directing the group at varying levels. Using Pigors (Leadership and domination among children, 9:140–157, 1933) definition of “guidance of others toward a desired goal,” Leadership Prompting Intervention was used to increase children’s leadership behaviors. Results indicated that both teachers increased their level of leadership prompting, and all three children increased the behaviors of directing the group. Conclusions Teacher prompting is a low cost, low labor-intensive intervention that can be easily integrated into the early childhood classroom routine to increase children’s leadership skills. This study adds to the limited research on early childhood leadership (ECL) by providing insight into how teacher prompts can influence children’s leadership behavior in a specific context and setting.

Developing Leadership Behavior Through Natural School

Purpose: this research aims to describe strategies for introducing the basics of leadership behavior at the Al Ghifari Kindergarten in Kuningan, Answered Indonesia.
 
 Theoretical framework: The development of leadership behavior in children aged 5-6 years has not been a focus in many early childhood education institutions.
 
 Problem: this has become problematic in the world of education when research results state that leadership abilities are the result of a conditioning process in the form of education starting from early childhood.
 
 Methodology: the qualitative research was chosen in this study because there are characteristics/uniqueness in Al Ghifari Kuningan Natural Kindergarten, a nature-based early childhood education institution combined with a leadership curriculum program for early childhood and not much has been done in other places to do this. This research method is a qualitative case study with the data collection used being in-depth interviews and observation. The data analysis process is data reduction, identifying themes, mapping relationships between themes, and concluding the findings.
 
 The finding: the results of this research are (1) We can introduce the basics of leadership in early childhood through a nature-based learning approach, (2) The role of teachers and parents in introducing the basics of leadership is very much needed in efforts to condition children's social environment, (3) Group games will help children in introducing the basics of leadership, (4) Through outbound games in the field, it helps children develop self-confidence as a basic owned by someone who is prepared to be a leader in the future.
 
 Research, Practical & Social implications: the implication of this study is social implication. This is because researchers have found many cases where young people lack leadership skills, they are not ready to become leaders in the corporate institutions where they work or become social leaders in society.
 
 Originality: The leadership dimension includes several things, namely: 1) organizational leadership dimension, 2) operational leadership dimension, and 3) personal leadership dimension.

Risk taker or risk averse? Stories from early childhood leaders that demonstrate the complexities involved in empowering young children to take safe risks in the outdoors

Risk-taking in the outdoors provides opportunities for young tamariki to develop their physical skills and learn to self-manage risk. Within an early childhood setting many policies and regulations are in place to ensure that tamariki are kept safe from harm. Early childhood leaders are tasked with the challenge of managing the tension between providing sufficient opportunities for tamariki to engage in risk-taking while following regulations to successfully eliminate any hazards that could cause serious harm. The scenarios and voices of the key informants presented in this article demonstrate ways that safe risk-taking opportunities can be implemented while navigating this tension.

A case study of clinical supervision to support early childhood leaders in times of natural disasters: “It’s not a designer handbag”

This paper is a case study of clinical supervision to support early childhood leaders in times of a natural disaster. The case is of five Directors working in long day care services in regional New South Wales, and their Manager, following catastrophic flooding in the region. Data were gathered through individual interviews and thematic analysis conducted. The paper summarises the emotional and professional burdens experienced by the participants as a result of the flood. The case study identifies the benefits of clinical supervision for these leaders’ personal wellbeing and professional practice during natural disaster, and highlights the need for clinical supervision to be delivered by skilled, trauma-informed supervisors who understand the early childhood context. Some challenges to clinical supervision are identified. Arguments are made for supervision to be provided and sustained to support early childhood leaders in both the emergency and recovery periods of experiencing a natural disaster.

Investigating the skills of a preschool leader: A latent profile analysis

AbstractIndividuals emerge as leaders across the lifespan; however, research investigating early childhood leaders is scant. This study assessed leadership in early childhood (N = 375) by using latent profile analysis of secondary data to examine how skill profiles are related to preschool leader scores. Skill profiles included scores for executive functioning, emotion regulation, imagination, theory of mind, vocabulary, and reception of prosocial behaviors (likeability). Six distinct profiles emerged with variation of high and low skill groupings. Four profiles with higher skill groupings also scored the highest on the leader construct but were not statistically different from each other. These findings support previous research that suggests that leaders may be identifiable in early childhood, and that there may be more than one pathway to early childhood leadership (i.e., differing skill combinations). With further research, these findings may have implications for curriculum development and the selection of peer models in clinical practice.

Narrowing the Research-to-Practice Gap in Effective Professional Development in a State Preschool Program: Describing the Process and Findings from a Research-Practice Partnership

This study describes the implementation and findings from a consultation process designed to enhance the professional development (PD) offered to teachers working in Virginia's state-funded preschool program. A PD Rubric was developed to translate research on effective PD (i.e., PD practices linked to positive changes in teacher practice and/or child outcomes), systematically assess the extent to which “business as usual” PD across 122 school divisions aligns to evidence-based practices, and guide individualized PD consultation calls with preschool leaders. Findings indicated that the area of PD with the greatest room for improvement was providing PD that supports teachers to refine their teaching skills, as opposed to only gain knowledge. Early childhood leaders reported that the PD consultation process was valuable, particularly talking with their consultant. Findings from this study provide insight into how to bridge research and practice around supporting the delivery of effective PD for preschool teachers at scale.

Supporting early childhood teacher well-being through the practice of mindful self-compassion

Internationally, there are growing concerns about the work-related well-being of early childhood teachers. There is currently limited guidance around specific practices teachers can use to support their well-being when challenges arise while teaching. Mindful self-compassion practice, which has elements of mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness, has been found to have benefits for supporting holistic well-being both ‘in the moment’ and in the long term. This paper reports on a research project in Aotearoa New Zealand which used a qualitative methodology of mindful inquiry to explore 12 teachers’ experiences of the practice of mindful self-compassion. Findings identified that being mindfully self-compassionate supported teachers’ self-awareness; enabled recognition of their common humanity; and supported the teachers to respond to challenging moments with self-kindness, which contributed to their well-being. These findings have implications for initial teacher education, those who work in the early childhood sector, and early childhood leaders and policy makers.

The Strategy to Internalize Social Care and Leadership Values for Early Childhood in Inclusive Schools in Bengkulu

Early childhood education is an effort to stimulate and provide learning activities that will later produce children's abilities and skills. Early childhood education is carried out with the aim of helping early childhood in the aspect of development, with the existence of early childhood education children can express ideas through playing while learning. In addition, in early childhood education it is important to internalize character education, because character education is one of the efforts that can be made to help children's development involving knowledge, feelings, and actions. The purpose of this study is to determine the strategy of instilling character values of social care and leadership for early childhood students in inclusive schools in Bengkulu. The research method used in this study is mixed method or combined method with data collection through questionnaires and interviews. The sample in this study was TK B which amounted to 71 respondents and the subjects of the study were 5 kindergarten B teachers. The results showed that the categorization of social care and early childhood leadership profiles consisted of three categories, namely high, medium, and low. For social care profiles of 71 respondents, there were 32 people or around 45.1% in the high category, 33 people or 45.5% in the medium category, and 6 people or 8.5% in the low category. As for the leadership profile of 71 respondents, there were 21 people or 29.6% in the high category, 44 people or 62% in the medium category, and 6 people or 8.5% in the low category. Furthermore, the strategy carried out by teachers in instilling the value of social care and leadership using the method of telling stories, listening to speech, habituation, direct practice, and reminder methods. Keywords: Early childhood education, Social care and leadership values, inclusive schools

Leadership learning design principles: Co-creating dialogic and critical pedagogy within cohort and community contexts

The purpose of this paper is to share our pedagogical evolution as graduate faculty in relationship with increasingly diverse cohort communities of early childhood professionals learning across the landscape of leadership roles engaged with young children, families, and other adults. The early childhood leadership program described in this paper offers a graduate certificate where annually, a cohort of 18-22 early childhood professionals from across Colorado in the United States learn together for 13 months. As faculty, we share a strong commitment to both learning about our teaching and to inviting student voices, the early childhood professionals, through dialogic processes in participatory study as we co-learn and grow our practices of learning and teaching. This paper introduces and explores four leadership learning design principles: (1) identity and agency, (2) socially constructed pedagogy, (3) contextually relevant learning experience, and (4) appreciative stance. As we go, the story will unfold around how we engaged cohort members of the 2019-2020 program year through initial survey reflections and then deepening our shared understanding of these leadership learning design principles through iterations of dialogue after the program was concluded. We end the paper with reflections on how this process of study has ultimately brought us to an awareness and eagerness to engage in relational forms of inquiry, placing student voices at the center with even more intention and depth.

Character Development of Early Childhood through Taekwondo Martial Arts

The high participation of early childhood in Taekwondo training is a noteworthy phenomenon, as such activities are typically undertaken by children of at least elementary school age. This study aims to explore the approach to early childhood character development through Taekwondo martial arts in Pasaman, West Sumatra. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, with data collected from instructors (sabeum), assistant instructors, early childhood participants, and parents. Data collection techniques included observation, interviews, and documentation, while data analysis involved data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The validity of the data was ensured through source and method triangulation. The findings indicate that Taekwondo training serves as an effective method for developing character traits such as discipline, sportsmanship, leadership, and responsibility in early childhood. The role of instructors and parents is pivotal in fostering these traits. Character development in early childhood is a gradual process, progressing through stages of knowledge, implementation, and habituation.

Noblesse oblige? Job position and early childhood leadership in China: the moderating role of school type

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the roles of job position in relation to early childhood leadership (ECL) and school type as a potential moderator of this relationship in China. A sample of 918 research participants, including 149 principals/vice-principals, 108 middle leaders and 661 teachers, was investigated. A three-factor model of ECL including staff management and development (SMD), peer learning and support (PLS) and communication with parents (CP) was used. By conducting linear regression analyses, it was found that the higher the job position an individual held, the more ECL practices he or she performed. The interaction terms (job position × school type) were statistically significant related to SMD and CP but not statistically significant related to PLS. In the case of public school type, the relationship between job position and CP became slightly negative. For private school type, however, it showed a curve-linear relationship. This paper indicates that teachers rarely participates in school-level decision-making due to the top-down management structure, especially in public preschools. It also suggests that the traditional preschool management system leads to preschool teachers in China are socialized as followers with no responsibilities outside classrooms.

Early childhood leadership well-being: A phenomenological examination of workplace stress and supports

Early childhood center directors need to effectively function in their workplace so that they can provide leadership that supports quality. Their personal and professional well-being may affect how they support other educators. Few studies have investigated work-related well-being from directors’ perspectives. This qualitative study investigated the directors’ common experiences about well-being. Specifically, interpretative phenomenological design was used to explore the directors’ work-related stress, work-related support, and well-being. Four early childhood center directors serving children from low socio-economic backgrounds in Mid-Western State were interviewed individually to understand how they understood work-related well-being, sources of work-related stress, and work-related support. Five themes emerged from the data: understanding of well-being (physical and mental health, salary, relationships, and self-care practice); sources of work-related stress (compassion fatigue, role, and learning); managing work-related stress (self-discipline, mindfulness); sources of support (leadership, staff, self-support, family, and friends); source of inspiration (opportunity and value). Implications include establishing formal support networks, and policy review and provision of resources to effectively support directors from burnout.

‘Diplomatically bossy’: Discursive constructions of ‘good’ leadership in early childhood told through educators’ memories

This article puts forward a discursive analysis of early childhood leadership in Australia, offering new ways of understanding the work of early childhood leaders and adding to the methodological tools used to consider work in early childhood education and care. While an emerging body of work recognises the complexities of early childhood leadership, there is little empirical work that identifies how early childhood leaders draw on discourses to understand their roles. This article reports on a study that problematises discursive understandings of ‘good’ early childhood leadership in collective-biography workshops with seven participants. A poststructural feminist inquiry, informed by Foucauldian theory, enabled complex and nuanced readings of early childhood leaders’ accounts. Discourses – or ways of thinking, speaking and doing – were identified and scrutinised through Foucauldian-informed discourse analysis. The findings were conceptualised through ironic categories that hold together discursive tensions and contradictions. Ironic categories, such as ‘diplomatically bossy’, provoke and stimulate new ways of thinking about what it means to be a ‘good’ early childhood leader. The findings add to the emerging conversation and new methodological approaches that address complexity, diversity and contingency in understandings of early childhood leadership.

Adding family math to the equation: Promoting Head Start preschoolers’ mathematics learning at home and school

Differences in children's mathematics knowledge are evident at kindergarten entry, favoring children who have greater access to economic resources. Fostering preschoolers’ mathematics learning at home and in classroom settings, through games and other developmentally appropriate activities, is of great interest to educators, early childhood leaders, and policymakers. This cluster randomized trial examined the effects of a naturalistic, game-based mathematics intervention implemented in Head Start classrooms and examined whether including a family math component added value. A total of 573 children (64% Hispanic; 60% multilingual) were included from 66 classrooms which were randomly assigned to Classroom Math (CM), Classroom Math + Family Math (CM+FM), or business-as-usual (BAU). Results indicated that the family math component did add value to the classroom-based intervention as CM+FM resulted in a significant positive impact on children's mathematics knowledge relative to BAU, but CM alone did not. For preschoolers age 50+ months, both interventions had significant effects on children's mathematics knowledge relative to BAU, but CM+FM had a stronger effect (d = .36). The number of math games played was significantly associated with higher mathematics scores and the number of family math mini-books returned had a significant impact on children's spring scores, over and above the number of games played. The CM+FM intervention also had a significant effect on teachers’ instructional practice (d =.79). Adding a family math component to a game-based classroom intervention resulted in positive impacts for preschoolers and seems to be an effective, ecologically valid intervention that fosters early mathematical competencies.

Leadership in early childhood

Jill Harrison, one of the authors of Leadership in Early Childhood: Challenges and Complexities, considers a problem-solving approach to conflict resolution.

Examining the Leadership Skills of Preschool Children in Terms of Emotion Expressiveness and Self-Regulation Skills

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-regulation, emotion expressiveness, and leadership skills of preschool children. In addition, it was investigated whether or not these skills differed according to gender and the mediating role of self-regulation skills in predicting the leadership skills by emotion expressiveness characteristics of the children. The study was designed in quantitative model and correlational survey design. The sample group of the study consisted of 323 children aged 47-67 months. The data of the study were collected using Self-Regulation Skills Scale, Emotion Expressiveness Questionnaire and Early Childhood Leadership Scale. As a result of the study, leadership, self-regulation, and emotion expressiveness skills of the preschool children were found to be correlated with each other. It was found that emotion expressiveness was an important factor in terms of leadership skills of children and self-regulation skill had a determining effect in this correlation.

HUBUNGAN GAYA KEPEMIMPINAN KEPALA PAUD DENGAN KINERJA GURU DI KECAMATAN SEMENDAWAI BARAT

This research is entitled “the relationship between early childhood leadership style and teacher performance in the district Semendawai Barat” This type of research is quantitative using the correlational method, namely looking at the relationship between the variabel X and variabel Y. the sampel used in this study were 15 payd institutions in the district Semendawai Barat. As for the way of collecting data that is using a questionnaire and documentation. In this study, the researcher used the guttman scale, which is a scale that uses only two choices, namely yes or no. if the respondent answers incorrectly, wil get a value of 1, but if respondent answer incorrectly, get a value of 0. Before conducting the research, the researcher conducted a trial sample first, namely the Cempaka district with 12 early childhood institutions. Aftergetting the vtest results, the next research tested the data using validity and reliability tests. Ater that the research into the actual sampel, namely early childhood institutions in the district of Semendawai Barat. Data analysis used is normality test, linier test, and hypothesis testing. The results obtained from the correlation coefficient value > that is 4,30753 > 2,080 which means Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. It can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between variable X and variable Y. As for the results of the relationship between variable X and variable Y, namely 0,469 so that the relationship between variable X and variable Y is equal to.