Abstract:
Effective leadership is crucial for high-quality early childhood education and care, positively influencing children’s holistic development (Gibbs, 2022; Waniganayake et al., 2023). Despite this, understanding diverse leadership approaches for ensuring quality programs remains limited. Given the challenges and constant changes in the early childhood sector, there is a pressing need to reassess existing leadership applications and explore innovative approaches to meet contemporary demands.
This research explores distributed leadership within one early learning setting in NSW, Australia. Using Kemmis et al.’s (2014)Theory of Practice Architectures as a theoretical lens, the study examined key components: sayings, doings, and relatings.
Findings revealed distributed leadership as a dynamic, collaborative approach, valuing fairness, and trust. Specific language, resource, and social relationship arrangements significantly influenced the enactment of distributed leadership. Cultural practices, such as collective decision-making, promoting collaboration, and fostering autonomy, facilitated distributed leadership. Conversely, barriers such as tensions in decision-making and perceived influence on disparities impeded its enactment, highlighting the importance of transparent decision-making processes.
In terms of material economics, practices like grouping children and adjusting work arrangements were both enabling and constraining distributed leadership, affecting decision-making and communication. Online communication platforms consistently emerged as facilitators, enhancing transparency and inclusivity. Social-political arrangements involving equal participation and shared authority were crucial, emphasising the need for redefined power dynamics to address imbalances.
These arrangements—spanning cultural, material, and social-political factors—shaped practices that enabled and constrained distributed leadership within the early childhood setting. This comprehensive investigation of factors influencing distributed leadership can advance this approach in meeting the unique requirements of the sector.
The implications of this research suggest a need for deeper exploration of innovative leadership models that respond to the evolving demands of early childhood education. By understanding and addressing the specific challenges and facilitators of distributed leadership, educational organisations can better support effective leadership practices that enhance program quality and promote positive outcomes for children.
References
Gibbs, L. (2022). Leadership emergence and development: Organizations shaping leading in early childhood education. Educational management, administration & leadership, 50(4), 672-693. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220940324
Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Praxis, practice and practice architectures. In Changing Practices, Changing Education (pp. 25-41). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-47-4_2
Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W. (2023). Leadership: contexts and complexities in early childhood education (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
This research explores distributed leadership within one early learning setting in NSW, Australia. Using Kemmis et al.’s (2014)Theory of Practice Architectures as a theoretical lens, the study examined key components: sayings, doings, and relatings.
Findings revealed distributed leadership as a dynamic, collaborative approach, valuing fairness, and trust. Specific language, resource, and social relationship arrangements significantly influenced the enactment of distributed leadership. Cultural practices, such as collective decision-making, promoting collaboration, and fostering autonomy, facilitated distributed leadership. Conversely, barriers such as tensions in decision-making and perceived influence on disparities impeded its enactment, highlighting the importance of transparent decision-making processes.
In terms of material economics, practices like grouping children and adjusting work arrangements were both enabling and constraining distributed leadership, affecting decision-making and communication. Online communication platforms consistently emerged as facilitators, enhancing transparency and inclusivity. Social-political arrangements involving equal participation and shared authority were crucial, emphasising the need for redefined power dynamics to address imbalances.
These arrangements—spanning cultural, material, and social-political factors—shaped practices that enabled and constrained distributed leadership within the early childhood setting. This comprehensive investigation of factors influencing distributed leadership can advance this approach in meeting the unique requirements of the sector.
The implications of this research suggest a need for deeper exploration of innovative leadership models that respond to the evolving demands of early childhood education. By understanding and addressing the specific challenges and facilitators of distributed leadership, educational organisations can better support effective leadership practices that enhance program quality and promote positive outcomes for children.
References
Gibbs, L. (2022). Leadership emergence and development: Organizations shaping leading in early childhood education. Educational management, administration & leadership, 50(4), 672-693. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220940324
Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Praxis, practice and practice architectures. In Changing Practices, Changing Education (pp. 25-41). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-47-4_2
Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W. (2023). Leadership: contexts and complexities in early childhood education (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.