Leadership in early childhood education

Leadership supports the development of effective teaching and learning in early childhood education by promoting trusting, supportive relationships and prioritising professional learning.

Definition

Leaders should focus on building effective relationships and on supporting effective teaching and learning by encouraging and enabling teachers to grow in their teaching practice through professional learning. Leaders should promote intellectually rigorous programmes, inquiry and research in their centres, and create a rich culture of professional learning activity.

Relevance

Leadership in the early childhood sector in New Zealand has historically had a low profile, although recent documents and guidelines have started to recognise its importance. New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum document, Te Whāriki, explains that leadership is not just the responsibility of centre leaders and other positional leaders, but is expected of all teachers.

State of the evidence

While there is clear evidence of the value of leadership in the school sector as well as in the organisational literature more broadly, there is a relative paucity of research on leadership in early childhood education. However, there is evidence of the importance of leaders in early childhood education leading professional learning, and researchers argue that mentoring and coaching are important leadership strategies for supporting the professional learning of both individuals and teams.

In practice

Positional leaders play a crucial role in creating a collaborative organisational culture focused on improvement. It is important that positional leaders in early childood education provide support and encouragement as well as professional learning opportunities for the teachers they lead, and also that they enable teachers to develop their own leadership capabilities. Effective practice in early childhood education involves leaders and teachers working collaboratively to positively impact children’s learning. However, leaders should also model effective practices and expect accountability.