Leadership in early childhood education: The case for pedagogical praxis

Ioanna Palaiologou, Trevor Male

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this conceptual article, the authors examine the context of early childhood education and care in England and the underpinning predominant ideologies to explore how these impact on the framing of leadership. The English context entails several contradictions (antinomies) at ontological, epistemological and axiological levels, and is heavily influenced by an ideological struggle concerning
the value of play within the sector as opposed to a climate of child performativity. Moreover, the predominately female workforce (a factor itself) has faced relentless changes in terms of qualifications and curriculum reforms in recent years. With the introduction of the graduate leader qualification (Early Years Teacher Status), a vast body of research has been seeking to
conceptualise what leadership means for early childhood education and care. In this article, the
authors argue that these attempts are helpful and contribute to this discourse of leadership, but
it needs to be thought of not only abstractly, but also practically. Thus, the authors conclude,
the (re)conceptualisation of leadership should locate it as pedagogical praxis after evaluating the
inherent deep dispositions of leaders in conjunction with their history, surrounding culture and
subjective perspectives/realities
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)23-34
Number of pages11
JournalContemporary Issues in Early Childhood
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Dec 2018

Keywords

  • early childhood education and care
  • leadership
  • pedagogical leadership
  • pedagogy
  • praxis

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