Leadership competencies in ECEC

Leadership in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has always been a priority as it links the highly competent leadership with better outcomes for kids. Leadership is essential for the success of education and care for youngsters. The quality and leadership are associated with the reliable and perceptible way so that it can improve the educational quality and learning of the students (Moss, Dahlberg & Pence, 2013). 

In India, the number of children below the age of six is approximately 160 Million which surpasses the entire population of Japan. Through efficient leadership, the teaching quality is enhanced. Certain competencies of leadership are depicted at the institutional level and following those outcomes the leaders need pedagogical knowledge with emphasis on the early childhood diversity and the knowledge of situated leanings and communities of practice( Gupta, 2015).

In the institutions of ECEC, the leaders and managers are able to elaborate the shared pedagogical framework and adapt the procedures for documenting  of educational practices and assessment of consequences. This provides them with the opportunity of joint work and offering the continuous pedagogical guidance to the staff (Heikka, Waniganayake  & Hujala, 2013).

Since the processes in the institutions of ECEC are affected by the characteristics of the family of the children. It comprises the structures of the families along with their cultures. The educational procedures in the families have a stronger influence on the development of the child as compared to any other institution. So, in this report, the role of leadership would be illustrated in early childhood education along with the leadership approaches to explore pedagogical leadership in the area of early childhood care and education. Its implications would also be discussed in the context of ECEC. The pseudo ideologies that dominate ECE would also be debated and their effects would be discussed in the play based pedagogy. Recommendations would also be given to improving the same.

Since the context of early childhood is transforming constantly and becoming increasingly complicated so the leadership roles are expanding and changing. There is a need for developing robust and new networks for leadership which can assist in coping, dealing, facilitating and initiating the changes rather than simply reacting it (Shonkoff et al., 2012).

It has been evaluated that effective leadership is important for the success of education and care. Leadership in early education and childcare is the process of guiding and enlisting the talents of students and their parents for accomplishing the academic aims. The caliber of leadership influences the quality of education and childcare which is received through the child care centers. Leadership should be combined with the team of nurturing and passionate childcare educators which results in better results for children. As a leader in child care, the goal should be to focus on the development and wellbeing of the youngster (Wilson, Douglas & Nganga,2013).

Institutional frameworks for promoting educational quality

So leadership should focus on the on developing the learning programs for the children so that education can be promoted.  Children should be engaged in full-time care as development is a crucial part of the journey of child care. The qualities of a good leader are to develop the child through the emotional, social and intellectual way. A good leader should make sure that the programs involve and entertain the kids. The entertainment should be in different forms such as music, art and dance. It facilitates the development of fine and gross motor skills (Britto, Engle & Super, 2013).  

As it was quoted by Peter  Drucker,’’ Management is about doing things in a  right manner and leadership is about doing the right things. “So, leadership is about guiding and leading the children so that they develop and strengthen various skills. A leader should act as a mentor for the kids so that their confidence should be developed. He also has the responsibility to promote good working relationships amongst the educators.

The leader motivates, affirms and encourags the pedagogy and practice of the educators. It is a joint effort which involves reflection and inquiry and can crucially influence the work of the educators associating with families and their kids. Research also shows that leadership influences learning, practice and quality is associated in a demonstrable and constant way in order to improve the outcomes of education.

This capacity should motivate the leader to reflect personally and they make learning, wellbeing and development the focus of child care. They address the rights of the children and honor the diversity in a positive and constructive way. Their responsibility is to build trust and to nurture the relationships. They should create a community for learners and evaluate a culture of ethical inquiry. The need for leaders in early childhood care is to regard themselves as learners and to adapt themselves throughout a wide range of institutional settings and developmental levels (Logie, 2013).

Their responsibility is to take the family and sociocultural context in a serious manner and they should develop the ability to read the child using the skills of interpretation and observation. The leaders should develop a knowledge base which is based on the development of the child. The framework for leadership should be founded upon a set of values, skills, attributes and knowledge which assist in effective leadership in early childhood care and education. These practices comprise recognizing and articulating a vision and making sure that there is shared understanding and effective communication amongst the leaders and the educators.

Socio-cultural context and its influence on child development

With regards to the public education system, the parameter of measurement is based upon the expectations which are from the learning system. The leaders of the educational institutions with a focus for excellent educational results for the children should develop a vision and target on leading learning which is a common learning process for all the people who are involved in educational procedures. They should develop a shared vision regarding the learning procedures for the children, professionals and parents and empower the team for cooperating the parents. They should also reflect on their own working and learning processes.

The leaders of the nursery schools and preschools have to manage the tasks in quality management, development of the organization and service quality, human resource development, financial management, networking and cooperation in the community, public relations, organizational buildings and equipment and commitment to families and participation.

These tasks are shared by leaders of the early childhood care institutions. The model of ECEC consists of several dimensions of leadership. The primary tasks of institutions are educational leadership and economic administration and management.

So leadership can be described as the theoretic and experiential knowledge of disciplines and comprises of practical tools and equipment to explain and work regarding the activities of ECEC leaders. Educational leadership can be effective only if the educational system can be built and coordinated to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum. It comprises of creating pedagogical spaces and coordinating of time schedules.

Pedagogy can be explained as the process of understanding the way learning occurs. It illustrates the philosophy and practices which assists in the comprehending  the learning process. It is the study of the learning and teaching process. Since leadership is described as an act of assisting and leading the individuals or groups, so if the two terms are combined, they gives birth to the idea of pedagogical leadership.It is therefore leading and assisting the study of learning and teaching processes.  

Early childhood education and care are closely associated with pedagogical leadership which arises from the need of increasing quality and having an impact on organizational change. Any person having a depth of understanding of early development and learning may play the role of pedagogical leader. These leaders act as facilitators, partners, co-learners and observers with the children, their families and educators.

It builds a culture of reflective learning which assists in resolving the complexities at work. The role of pedagogical leadership insists on reconsidering the way of working and learning. Attitudes such as openness, curiosity, purposefulness and resiliency assist in creating a culture which is less focused on teaching and more on the learning methods for child and adults. The pedagogical leaders should make sure that the educators have methods and time so that they can reflect on their own practices, explore multiple perspectives and teach children.

Effective leadership qualities and responsibilities

The pedagogical leaders must raise enquires which involve the educators emotionally and intellectually and requires them to consider how practice and theory inform each other. They use the ideologies to ask questions which inspire them and others to develop  intentional practices which introduce the guiding principles of the Early Learning Framework . Their role is to create structures and systems which assist their  values and visions for developing a quality learning environment ( Kremer, Brannen  & Glennerster,2013).  

The decisions are made for spending money, managing time, set up environment and helping in the success of others which arises due to the vision they have for families, their children and themselves. The values assist the leaders to build a culture in which inquiry and reflection form the basis for transforming the practices. The first one is using protocols to assist the reflective inquiry and thinking.

Educators utilize protocols which guides them to do day to day practices. These help the leaders in performing the routine works along with supporting a disciplined approach to inquiry and reflection. It comprises a set of questions which motivate them to consider multiple perspectives and assists in intensifying the understanding and having an impact on the day to day practices. Another is using reflective protocols to analyze the environment.The leaders should provide an opportunity for the educators so that they can visit and learning environment of others (Kivunja, 2014).

In this context, it has been argued that pedagogy goes beyond the concept of learning and teaching. It is the set of principles which shape the academic organizations around the learning and teaching methods so that they could be matched with applicable standards and expectations of the learning outcomes of the students.

On the other hand, learning is integrated as the procedure of effective function of the educational institutions. Most of the academic institutions signify pedagogy as their core purpose and activity. Pedagogy attempts to invest in building the capacity through the evolution of academic and social capital for kids and professional capital for the educators (Bruce, 2012). 

It has been stated that teachers play the role of leaders in the classroom as they are in direct contact with children and their learning. Leadership is associated with the exercise of justifiable and reasonable judgments and it acts responsibly towards the future and it cares enough to do justice with the future and on the other hand, pedagogy refers to the practices of teaching and learning. It is a dual relationship with the teachers and their practice and it targets the role of a teacher in the learning environment.  

Role of pedagogical leadership in quality learning

It is the relationship amongst the involvement of learners and their economic and socioeconomic contexts. It subscribes to the ideology about how the knowledge is created in the context of the learner and it emphasizes on the engagement of the learner for creation of knowledge.  So, the term pedagogy is more complicated and bigger than teaching and learning (Burr, 2016). 

The classrooms are situated within the traditional structures of the system of the school. The teachers direct within the walls of these structures so that innovative approaches can be created which can fit within the broader systems. In the elementary classrooms, the students are partnered with the others based on the age and the teachers are collaborating them on the basis of the grades so that the multi-age experience can be provided to the students. They have transformed learning and physical structures to improve the collaborations between students and the power structure have also been shifted so that the students can be included as significant resources in the learning of their classmates and educators (Boutte, 2012).

Pedagogy is also concerned about the structural arrangements and features of the learning environment. It is the way in which learning is organized and structured over time. These structures comprise of matters such as the grouping of learners, the utilization of teachers and facilitators, pedagogies and sequencing of learning, combinations of content  and knowledge , assessments and the use of space, facilities , technologies and communities ( Dalli & Urban, 2013). 

The starting place of each of the learning environments comprises of a mutual value system known as community of learners. The idea and procedure have been evaluated by tutors over time and forms the basis of work with the students and colleagues. The community of learners is crucial for creation of the learning environment which is categorized by interdependence and emotional safety ( Pidgeon et al.,2013).

Every educator initiates a procedure through which the students express their vision of the community of learners in the classroom in which the output is improved through the acknowledgment that every member belonging to the community is accountable for their learning and that of others. In the learning environment, healthy relationships are based upon communities which are positively interdependent(Thapa et al., 2013).

Within the atmosphere of community learning, self-regulation skills are developed by the students and they support each other throughout the entire process thereby developing a common belief they are teachers and learners as well. This conviction is exhibited with the help of peer coaching experiences which assist in supporting each other’s learning. The foundational values of the community of learners establish the environment which is characterized by safety, trust and support so that the learners take the risk of exploring and expressing themselves in the learning processes (Georgeson & Payler, 2013). 

Implications for improving outcomes

In this context in the collaborative learning structures, there is an implied comprehension of the learning environment that learning is a procedure which is constructed socailly.  It is used to build accountability and emotional safety in the learning process. There is extensive usage of techniques such as peer coaching or partner talks, jigsaw structures, multi-aged peer coaching and collaborative inquiry projects. Circle discussions and jigsaws are the core elements in the inquiry work.

The teachers act as learning coaches. They meet the pupils in elbow to elbow conferences and they try to find out the personal interests of the students and connections amongst the broad inquiry questions. It is followed by developing a plan of action for the students.  The coaching support persists as teachers check the progress of the students in alignment with their plans (Hesterman, 2013).  

Pedagogy provides prospects for optimal physical and mental health. It has a crucial positive impact on the future lives of the students. It is an established fact when there is a lack of relationship with nature, then mental and physical health is compromised.  The experiences of early childhood  in nature crucially impact the growth of their environmental attitude and values.

Pedagogy establishes the correlation between positive adult attitudes and early nature experiences to the environment. It assesses the fact that earlier environmental education impacts greatly  on the children in present and future. The opportunity to sustain and create the respectful relationships amongst children and educators as well as with the communities and families are provided in the ECE context (Prochner, 2012). 

There are certain principles associated with the early childhood education. The educators identify the appropriateness and relevance of the localized approaches of ECE amongst children, their families and community. ECE has been observed as an interrelationship amongst pedagogy i.e. curriculum, learning and teaching and people i.e. community and partnership and place i.e. ethos and environment.

The interaction of these three components shall also assist sustainable ECE and would be used as an agenda for evaluating the pedagogical leadership strategies in the classrooms. Leadership in pedagogy implies the active involvement of the children and educators in the sustainability actions and learning. The environment and ethos comprise of social and physical environments in which children acquire from nature and where the approaches of learning, teaching and management are applied to address the sustainability issues (Miller, Wills & Scanlan,2013).

Partnerships and communities comprise of the relationships between children, families and educators and the wider community as a whole as they struggle to be more sustainable. All the three mechanisms work together in interconnected ways so that pedagogy for leadership is applied effectively in the context of ECE. The ECE leadership features can be identified as guiding others towards a shared vision. It involves ethical practices and might be non-positional in the center . It can be learned and has great benefit for leaders and educators as well( Chan & Ritchie, 2016).

Since leaders have a vision and they influence others and their actions, so they inspire others to follow that vision.  Ineffective leadership in the early years, in most of the effective settings, leadership is defined by a clear vision in the context of curriculum and pedagogy. The vision of the leadership needs to be known and stated so that it creates awareness amongst the stakeholders and have the opportunity to contribute the goals for the center.

The leadership in ECE is the capability to act in a respectful and ethical manner while guiding others towards the goals and vision of the center. The effective ECE leaders are ethical and respectful in their practices.  The implication of ethical leadership is that work of the leaders  is respected by the educators in ECE and they themselves work in an ethical manner . Leadership in ECE is the moral act where principles and values about wrong and right are used to lead in the best interests of groups and individuals (McLaren, 2015).

The skills of effective leadership in ECE can be learned. The roles of leadership provide benefit for leaders within the ECE framework. The leadership in pedagogy inspires the educators to focus on the learning, wellbeing and development of the child. It addresses their rights and builds trust, respect and nurtures the relationships. Thus leadership in ECE settings necessitate deep human qualities which go beyond the conventional notions of authority( Langdon et al.,2016).

Educational leadership implies steering, coordinating and building the educational work in order to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum. It comprises of planning the activities of pedagogy, organizing the internal communication, coordinating the time schedules and creating the pedagogical spaces. Leaders are accountable to take care of the professional development of the staff and to make sure that every person who is working in the institution is satisfied with his job. The leaders are also responsible for the working conditions, networking and quality development. With the help of these practices, they want to motivate the participation of the staff associated with pedagogy and it is a prerequisite for efficiency and professional development, health and wellbeing (Giardiello, 2013). 

ECE leaders have to know about the process of the team and group dynamics, methods of conflict resolution. They must participate in the decisions regarding the pedagogical processes and the working conditions of the staff. The attitudes and the strategies of ECE leadership can affect the ways of coping up with dilemmas of the team in the routine life. If there is a conflict between the demands of the curriculum and probabilities of translation of action, the reactions of the team can be explained as -in the case of teams surviving for translation in spite of shortage of resources , then they must focus on curricula and something ignore the necessities of parents and children (Noor-Ul-Amin, 2013).

The teams who attempt to dissociate themselves to fulfill the task mentioned in curricula. These teams are under the pressure due to expectations from the parents but they do not have alternative pedagogical ideas and thus they are faced with the dilemma with the orientation. Thus the attitudes of the leaders and team lending strategies can influence the pedagogical orientations in an effective manner and the self-confidence of the teams in their work and quality( Brodin  & Renblad,2015).

Since early childhood education pertains to the practice and theory of imparting education to the young children.  It is associated with educating the adults about the young children with the help of educating the teachers so that they may know the best method of learning with the help of various strategies. Pedagogy has a crucial role to play in this context. Early Childhood Education has a crucial role to play in the social  and economic policies and assumes an influential role in conceptualizing the child and his family in the present and future societies. So in the early years of a child’s life, pedagogy is associated with nurturing practices of a child in the context of valuable knowledge so that desired outcomes can be promoted (Pecora et al.,2017).

Pedagogy refers to the art or science of being a teacher and it involves the methods of teaching on ideologies of pedagogy viz. the liberal which lays stress on the independence of a child and the conservative which emphasizes on the autonomy of a teacher. The liberal ideology states that the child-centered approaches should be dominant in the contemporary early childhood. They are opposed to the teacher directed approaches. The current concepts of pedagogy directs that  the broader scope of questions related to academia such as what constitutes teaching and learning and what is the meaning of being human.

So, pedagogy correlates the vital connections amongst knowledge, learning, teaching, society and politics and it encompasses the vision of society, knowledge and people. Pedagogy refers to not only to the knowledge of knowing and doing but it also involves various practices and subjectivities comprising of social administration of child, family and work( Muralidharan,2013).

Pedagogy is the twofold relationship between teachers and their practice and it is mainly focused on to the characteristics of the role of the teacher in the learning environment. Another theory focuses on the relationship between the learner and his knowledge. This ideology focuses on the association between involvement of the learners and their economic and socio-political contexts. The ideologies of metacognitive , relational and interactive pedagogy subscribes to the idea of the  formation of knowledge in association with the learners and his engagement for its formation (Cumming, Sumsion  & Wong,2013).  

In some of the countries such as England, pedagogy refers to the way topics are taught within the formal education systems. It is a holistic and relational approach towards working with people. It involves visualization about human nature, society, production and knowledge in association with the various aspects of education in terms of regulations inserted regarding the practical means of education (Blumenreich & Gupta, 2015).

In this context, the enhanced shared consciousness between the micro and macro shareholders regarding the strategies  and visions would help in promoting the participation of leaders and it would remove the deficits and the lack of awareness about the development of work in the area. The process of pedagogical improvement can be described as the dynamic procedure comprising of stakeholders in the shared vision and strategies regarding the progress which is crucial for the enhancement of interdependence and it can be accomplished by merging the information from various perspectives (Gupta, 2014). 

In order to enhance the shared consciousness regarding the objectives and strategies of pedagogical development, a strategy should be developed which forms the basis for making of decisions , systematic development and shared discussions associated with ECE. Another implication can be that the responsibilities should be distributed for pedagogical leadership. When the accountability for pedagogical leadership is rested solely upon the position of center director, it may not be possible that the long-term development of pedagogy takes place within the centers. The distribution of accountabilities for the leadership comprises of provisions of support to the center directors from the leaders of the macro level so that there is no scarcity of resources in order to enact the pedagogical leadership within the centers (Shields, 2012). 

Another implication can be allowing time which must be prudently used if a quality learning environment is to be built and sustained in an early learning environment for both adults and children. For making the sustainable change and genuinely grow the practice, the teachers need to take time in order to reflect on the complications of the routine work. In this context, the photograph of small group of children or a child  should be studied in an activity. A conversation should be initiated to consider the various perspectives of a child such as what the reactions of the face of the child are and what seems to capture his attention (Nelson & Guerra, 2014).

As the leaders of pedagogy, certain learning experiences for educators should be created which is parallel to the offerings made to the children. The educators should focus on the creativity, creating rich environments and respect the different learning styles of children. They should encourage the inquisitiveness, support the risk-taking approach and offer chances for children to work and think  together (Johnson & Fuller, 2014). 

In this context, an opportunity should be set for educators so that they can explore the blocks for themselves so that a deeper understanding should be developed regarding the possibilities which the block building may offer. The participants should be presented with a group challenge to tell a story using a block. It would help in discovering the thrills and challenges confronted by the children. They should be allowed plenty of time for play and debrief the play. The ideology of playing with the materials can be iterated with variety  of things which may be offered to children like clay, loose parts and paint (Black et al.,2017).

Certain recommendations can help the pedagogical leaders for building an international culture which form the basis of reflection and inquiry for transforming practice. The protocol can be used to assist in reflective thinking and inquiry. The educators should use a reflective protocol for studying the environment on regular basis (Santamaría  & Santamaría, 2016).

The environment set a foundation for learning and impact strongly on their thinking and behaving patterns. Studying the environment is a way which can help the educators and leaders of pedagogy to be more cautious about constructing and designing spaces for kids. They should be provided with an opportunity to visit and study the learning environment of others. A sequence of questions should be used to emphasize on clarifications and assist in the follow-up discussions. The examples of the prepared questionnaire can be a series of strengths and competencies for the children. Where does the evidence of family engagement can be noticed?  How the relationships are managed in the space and where is the thinking of educators visible (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2012)?

Another recommendation is that the professional learning communities should be set. The learning groups are individuals which come together to share their interests and passions so that they can be engaged in the procedure for collaborative and collective learning. The learning communities should be grounded in social constructivist approach towards learning so that it can be recognized that knowledge is built by the individuals along with their communications with other people (McLaren, 2015).

Facilitators are required to make the learning communities effective. They help in guiding the dialogue and to make sure that like voices are heard and reflected back and ideologies  can be summarized and connections can be made to values and perceptions. Upon the establishment of the learning community, the role of a facilitator can be evolved into an essential friend.  He can provoke new ideas, bring forward new ideas and challenge the thinking of people which may not have been considered (Gupta, 2017).

The leaders in pedagogy should take the role of a facilitator within the communities and the individuals should belong to all levels of the group. The formation of professional learning communities is one of the influential developments plans through which the capability should be built on other people and the shifting of focus from teaching to learning. This offers the way to grow the relationship and analyze the complexities of child and adult learning (Burton, 2012).

In this context, it has been suggested that a series of articles can be selected and a group of pedagogical leaders should be invited to review each of the chapters of the article. It should be followed by establishing a set of questions as a protocol through which discussions can be guided (Aubrey, Godfrey & Harris, 2013). 

Conclusion

Hence to conclude, it can be said that the leadership in the ECE is second to classroom teaching as it impacts the learning patterns of the students. In several schools across India, there are teachers who provide the challenges to the children and motivate them for asking questions. The dialogue about the issues influences their growing age. There are some of the experienced leaders in pedagogy who guide the teachers to plan for multiple levels and optimized usage of the resources in the school.

In this context, the teachers should meet in small groups in a week so that the clarity should be evolved about the issues pertaining to the progress of the child and the curricula with the heads of the department and the school. All the teachers and leaders of pedagogy should work with the reference to the environment i.e. the people, nature of support provided by them, the vision of the organization  and the nature of assistance provided to them. The role of pedagogical leaders is to nurture the ideas, identify the issues , enable the systems and practices , resolve the tensions and help in capacity building. Since educational leadership is the significant link in the journey for transforming the change in education and society

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