An International Perspective on Early Childhood Leadership. Research Notes

Institution	McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University
Titel	An International Perspective on Early Childhood Leadership. Research Notes
Quelle	(2015), (2 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Early Childhood Education; Instructional Leadership; Administrator Role; Leadership Responsibility; Leadership Training; Attitudes; Program Administration; Foreign Countries; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Instruction; Leadership; Bildung; Erziehung; Führung; Führungslehre; Attitude; Einstellung; Verhalten; Ausland; Australien
Abstract	While there is considerable research about the nature and practice of leadership in business, K-12 education, and health sciences, evidence regarding early childhood leadership is relatively thin. One way to conceptualize early childhood leadership is to consider two functional types--administrative leadership and instructional (or pedagogical) leadership. Administrative leadership involves creating management systems to leverage resources, oversee operations, and engage stakeholders. Instructional leadership inspires effective teaching and learning within a culture of continuous quality improvement. It focuses on creating a positive work climate, ensuring the organizational conditions that foster professional growth and effective teaching. A recent study in Victoria, Australia provides an interesting perspective when considering these two leadership functions. The goal of the Australian study was to examine perceptions of important leadership capacities of 351 individuals selected to participate in a 4-month leadership development program between 2010 and 2013. Participants responded to an online questionnaire at the beginning of the training course to explore their perceptions about early childhood leadership. They were asked: "What do you think are the most important things an early childhood leader should have the capacity to do?" Results showed that on average participants rated all 15 of the capacities as important (3.0 or above), which was expected because the questionnaire was based on the training program's leadership framework. This study raises awareness that early childhood program leaders in Australia do not perceive key aspects of instructional leadership as most critical to their work and program administration is less important than personal and social capacity. Leaders in this study believe they must primarily be able to self-regulate and motivate others. Through these leadership capacities they are able to build the collective competence of learning organizations to create knowledge, promote inquiry and reflection, and align behaviors around shared values. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. 6200 Capital Drive, Wheeling, IL 60090. Tel: 847-947-5063; Fax: 847-947-5063; e-mail: McCormickCenter@nl.edu; Web site: https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01