Challenges of Early Years leadership preparation: a comparison between early and experienced Early Years practitioners in England

Abstract

Leadership has been under-researched in the Early Years (EY) sector of primary schools in England, especially in leading change for professional development. The aim of this paper is to theorise what the leadership culture for EY practitioners looks like, and how Initial Teacher Training providers and schools are preparing practitioners for leadership. Using case studies of EY practitioners in different stages of their career in primary schools, we offer an insight into their preparedness for leadership in EY, the implication being that leadership training requires an understanding and embedding of the EY culture and context. Interviews with both sample groups allowed for deeper insight into the lived world. Interviews were also conducted with the head teachers to gain an overview of the leadership preparation they provided. The main findings suggest that newer EY practitioners are better prepared for leadership from their university training in comparison to more experienced EY practitioners.

Building Leadership Capacity in Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers

“…Consistent with the literature (Mistry & Sood, 2012), our findings indicated that although early childhood educators acknowledged the importance of leadership skills, their perceptions of leadership were not yet at a sophisticated level.…”

“…Mistry & Sood (2012) cite insufficient training as a primary reason for the reluctance of early childhood professionals to adopt leadership roles. This is consistent with Thornton's (2010) belief that it is highly unlikely that early childhood professionals will have received formal preparation as part of their undergraduate studies to take on a leadership role.…”

The Professional Leadership and Action Research Training Model: Supporting early childhood leadership

“…Training institutions, such as universities, are accountable for the quality of training and the development of potential leaders (Clark, 2012;Mistry & Sood, 2012). The exclusion of graduates taking on leadership roles until their final career stage may signal to training institutions that leadership in undergraduate courses is not as important.…”

How do early childhood education leaders navigate ethical dilemmas within the context of marketised provision in England?

“…Leadership within ECE is a complex task (Mistry & Sood, 2012) and may include leadership of people, practice and pedagogy. Practitioners have to meet multiple demands and deal with complex tasks that involve children, other practitioners and parents (Miller, 2008).…”