Palaiologou, I; Male, T; (2019) Leadership in early childhood education: The case for pedagogical praxis. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 10.1177/1463949118819100.

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Abstract

In this conceptual paper we examine the context of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in England and the underpinning pre-dominant 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 the recent years. With the introduction of the graduate leader qualification [Early Years Teacher Status (EYT)] a vast body of research has been seeking to conceptualise what leadership means for ECEC. In this paper we argue that these attempts are helpful and contribute to this discourse of leadership, but we need to think of it not only abstractly, but practically as well. Thus, we conclude, our (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.

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