JELPP – Volume 33, Issue 1 (Jun 2018)
Editorial
Michele Morrison
New spaces – new pedagogies: Implementing personalised learning in primary school innovative learning environments
Carol Cardno, Emma Tolmie, Jo Howse
Abstract
The New Zealand Ministry of Education is requiring that all primary school “new builds” and renovations be Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs), and within these spaces there is an expectation that personalised learning is to be implemented. This qualitative study involved an investigation ofpractice in three Auckland primary schools where an innovative learning environment existed and personalised learning was being implemented. In each setting, a school leader and a teacher were interviewed, and national and school level documents were analysed. A key finding was that leaders and teachers had confused and often disparate understandings of the term personalised learning. A further finding showed that both shallow and deep personalisation was evident. Yet another key finding revealed that all participants were challenged by the changes required. The study concludes that leaders must take certain actions to ensure the effective implementation of deep personalised learning including clarifying how personalised learning is understood and practised and sharing this with all stakeholders.
Keywords
Personalised learning, innovative learning environments, definitions, implementation, challenges, primary schools
Dispositions of a responsible early childhood education leader: Voices from the field
Gwen Davitt and Debbie Ryder
Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand
Abstract
In our organisation's research project, “Leaders Growing Leaders” (Ryder, Davitt, Higginson, Smorti, Smith & Carroll-Lind, 2017), which investigated effective ECE leadership in Aotearoa/New Zealand, leadership dispositions were identified as one means of making sense of the complexities of leadership within early childhood education. The New Zealand early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa. Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2017) highlights the importance of kaiako (teacher) responsibilities. Similarly, this article argues that the six specific leadership dispositions of an early childhood education leader, identified in our research, can act as a framework to explore leadership responsibilities. Participant voices are drawn on to exemplify and articulate the specific leadership dispositions of being: a communicator; relationship focused; caring and supportive; and a leader of growth and change, whilst also acting as a critical friend. We argue that responsible leadership must be purposefully grown, developed and sustained across the culture of the ECE setting. Underpinning this understanding is the need for dedicated leadership professional development that supports emerging and current leaders, and their teams, to engage in robust collegial dialogue and reflective practice in terms of what it means to be a responsible leader.
Keywords
Leadership; early childhood education; dispositions; responsibilities; professional learning
Making sense of leadership in early childhood education: Tensions and complexities between concepts and practices
Nicki Klevering, Rachel McNae
Abstract
Effective leadership within early childhood settings is aligned with the perceived successful implementation of high quality care and education programmes (Thornton, Tamati, Clarkin-Philips, Aitken & Wansbrough, 2009). With growing attention on the role early childhood education (ECE) plays in preparing children to be successful in their lives, it is not surprising that there is increased focus on the work and impact of educational leaders in this endeavour. An expanding body of research specifically exploring leadership within ECE settings illustrates how much of the educational leadership theory corpus lacks contextual relevance and fails to recognise the complexities and realities of leading in early years contexts (Rodd, 2013). The qualitative research reported on in this article examines the leadership understandings and perceptions of five qualified, registered early childhood leaders. The findings illustrated that whilst participants were cognisant of the role effective leadership plays in providing quality care and education, there was much confusion about what leadership entailed and how leadership differentiated from management in this context. The contextual complexities of the ECE sector were a significant influence on each participant’s opportunity to learn about, and practise leadership. Findings also revealed a need for contextually relevant and progressive approaches to leadership learning to support early childhood leaders and teachers in their leadership work.
Keywords
Leadership, management, early childhood, learning, theory
Learning in nature: Leadership opportunities in an Education Outside the Classroom programme in a New Zealand early childhood centre
Vicki Hill
Melody Childcare Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand
Abstract
This article explores how involvement in an Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) programme in one New Zealand early childhood centre provides leadership opportunities for teachers and children and highlights the benefits of [re]connecting young children with nature on a regular basis. It focuses on teachers’ and parents’ views and perspectives on their participation in this nature-based education programme, specifically in regard to the leadership opportunities that the programme provided for teachers and children.
This article highlights the powerful influence of the EOTC programme in the development of teachers’ leadership. It describes how leadership is a contextual phenomenon and explains how a formal EOTC programme in an early childhood centre provided increased opportunities for teacher leadership regardless of formal leadership position. Distributed leadership and relational leadership were identified as key components of the programme. The article also explores how involvement with the EOTC programme and the natural environment provided significant opportunities for the leadership development of children, in addition to developing their physical abilities, independence and social skills. This article adds valuable knowledge in the area of leadership opportunities resulting from involvement in an EOTC programme.
Keywords
Leadership; distributed leadership; early childhood education; nature programme; bush kindergarten; Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
Widening the leadership story – moving beyond the individual
Linda Baxendine
Abstract
Distributed leadership that includes democratic practices can open spaces for children and their families to share their knowledge and skills and participate in everyday early childhood leadership activity. Drawing on the findings of a Masters thesis this article discusses how one kindergarten’s exploration of the local community has afforded insights into reframing leadership as an emerging social process whereby teachers, children and families are participants in an approach to leadership described as democratic leadership. Past leadership research has commonly focused on skills, traits and behaviours of people deemed leaders. Moving away from the primacy of the individual towards knowing leadership as an emergent phenomenon that exists between people incorporating multiple worldviews, elevates democratic principles such as collaboration and meaningful participation. Leadership-as-practice was used to analyse the ways in which excursions into the community have broadened teachers’ understandings of leadership and fostered more democratic and inclusive participation of children and families in the kindergarten programme. Utilising excursions within the local community as a mechanism to support a democratic form of leadership suggests that leadership can be perceived as arising from the collective work of people in everyday contexts. The value of extending the learning environment beyond the boundaries of the kindergarten, to engage with the local community, offers possibilities to make connections with the surrounding land, understand local stories, histories and cultural events. In this sense democratic leadership intersects with place-based education as children’s awareness of themselves as citizens of a community deepens. Inquiry as a form of participatory democracy was a key feature of decision-making in this study and provided a common purpose for community excursions while encouraging leadership opportunities.
Keywords
Democratic leadership; leadership-as-practice; early childhood education; collaboration; place-based education
Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding young children’s leadership: A comparison between New Zealand and Honduras
Maria Auxiliadora Cerrato1, Kate Thornton2 and Maggie Haggerty21Real LEDGE Honduras, 2Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract
Young children’s leadership is an under-researched area. This article reports how teachers of 4 and 5 year old children in New Zealand and Honduras conceptualise and encourage children’s leadership. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and observations of teaching practice. The findings suggest that there are differences between New Zealand and Honduran teachers' beliefs and practices regarding children’s leadership. While teachers in New Zealand settings encouraged leadership by empowering children to assume leadership roles, teachers in the Honduran settings allocated leadership opportunities. In addition, New Zealand teachers viewed young leaders as sharing leadership and leading their learning, whereas Honduran teachers viewed them as influencing peers. These findings may encourage teachers to reflect on how their beliefs regarding children’s leadership guide their teaching practice.
Keywords
Children’s leadership; teacher beliefs and practices; early childhood education
Data- and research-informed improvement work in ECEC
Line Skov HansenAalborg University, Denmark
Abstract
The article describes an approach to data- and research-informed improvement work in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) that is used by the Laboratory for Research-based School Development (LSP) at Aalborg University, Denmark. The approach includes collaboration between research, policy and practice and it incorporates two current policy priorities in the field of Danish education: evidence-informed decision making and the continuous improvement of the learning environment. The approach is based on the core idea that it takes a collective effort and widely distributed leadership to ensure the well-being and learning of all children. Additionally, the approach rests on the hypothesis that the use of evidence assists ECEC services to accomplish goals of high-quality learning environments, and the improvement work can drive efforts to use knowledge from data and research. Consequently, in this approach, data- and research-based knowledge is used as an essential indicator of quality and as a trigger for professional learning and development (PLD) of the teaching staff. Furthermore, leadership is seen as essential in relation to the PLD of the teaching staff and their use of evidence.
Keywords
Early Childhood Education and Care; data- and research-informed; improvement work; learning environment; professional learning and development; leadership; whole system approach