Leadership in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Leadership in early childhood education is a relatively young but expanding field of scholarship reflected in the early 21st-century nature of the literature in this entry. In many cases, the literature draws on existing leadership theories and relates it to the early childhood education context. Common theories of leadership such as transactional or transformational leadership have been rejected by those in the sector as these approaches do not reflect the collaborative nature of leadership in the early years sector. Conversely, broader leadership approaches commonly referred to in the wider education sector, such as pedagogical and distributed leadership, are seen as relevant to the early childhood education sector and sections of this entry are devoted to literature on these. Literature on Distributed Leadership and teacher leadership focuses on the practice of leadership rather than those in leadership roles and literature on the link between leadership practice and quality in early childhood is also included. Leadership is acknowledged to be contextual and this is particularly the case in the early childhood education sector where the status of the profession, the structure, and the terminology used varies widely across countries. Much of the writing in the field has come from countries such as Australia, New Zealand, England, and Nordic countries, where teachers and leaders are more highly qualified and where there is a greater level of recognition for the sector and the importance of leadership. In contrast some of the literature from North America reveals a sector in which the importance of leadership struggles to be acknowledged or respected. While there is a separate section on Leadership in Different Contexts, context is of relevance in the majority of literature included. Reasons for the lack of recognition for leadership in the sector include the lack of support for leadership development highlighted in the selection of articles focused on this entry. Tensions in the field are highlighted in a section on Challenges and Debates. The predominance of women in the sector appears to be another factor in the lack of recognition and this is reflected in the authorship of the literature with the majority of articles being written by women. While most of the literature referred to takes the form of articles, some books are included. These are mainly Texts and Guides for practitioners however some include theorization on the nature of leadership in the field.