‘Learning by talking?’ – The role of local line leadership in organisational learning

Abstract

Organisational learning is the topic addressed in this qualitative comparative case study. The purpose is to investigate the role of local line leadership in professional development processes. Two kindergartens participating in the Norwegian national in-service programme Competence for Diversity were studied. A combination of inductive and deductive analyses led us to introduce two dimensions: leading contextual interplay, with proactive and reactive values, and practice development, with fragmented and integrated values. One of the kindergartens appeared to have organised the professional development process more productively than the other, and the findings point to a combination of integrating dialogues on practice, and proactive managers as possible keys to understanding kindergartens as learning organisations. The model seems to capture, to some extent, the holistic view of the learning organisation as a structured relationship between individual and collective learning. The managerial role as local line leader stands out as important for understanding learning in this type of organisation.

‘We are equal, but I am the leader’: leadership enactment in early childhood education in Norway

“…The trends in the research field of leadership in ECEC in Norway are similar, with only a few scattered research contributions before 2010 (Mordal, 2014). Additionally, the research on leadership has focused mainly on kindergarten managers 4 and kindergarten owners (Børhaug et al, 2011;Børhaug & Lotsberg, 2014;Hard & Jónsdóttir, 2013;Jónsdóttir & Coleman, 2014;Lundestad, 2012;Skogen et al, 2009;Sønsthagen & Glosvik, 2020). The research situation in other Nordic countries and other parts of the world show similar trends (Halttunen et al, 2019;Hard, 2006;Hard & Jónsdóttir, 2013;Jónsdóttir, 2012;Strehmel et al, 2019).…”