Abstract
Over 1.5 million children, from birth to five years of age, attend an early childhood education setting every day in Australia (Australian Government, 2022). Throughout 2020 and 2021, children's attendance was disrupted and sometimes prevented by natural disasters, devastating bushfires, and a global pandemic. Over this time, early childhood education settings provided care and education for the children of essential workers, online support for children and families and integral community support. However, key policymakers, members of government and the community frequently overlooked early childhood education.
Although education's critical role in children's developmental trajectories and uplifting and supporting communities in times of change (Heckman, 2011), early childhood education was often excluded from political narratives and the communication on funding and operational changes. Unprecedented demands created personal and professional challenges, but leaders continued to perform and thrive in their roles.
This paper describes a qualitative study exploring perspectives and the enactment of leadership in early childhood education settings in challenging times. The study investigated the dispositions (made up of knowledge, skills, and values) of fifteen Australian early childhood education leaders who led the workforce, policy implementation, and practice throughout times of crisis. Complexity leadership theory (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017; Gibbs et al., 2019), characterised by emergence, interdependence, disruption, and the nature of unexpected outcomes, provided an ontological foundation and interpretive lens for the study.
The findings illuminate the challenges for leaders of early childhood education sites and identify the skills, knowledge and fundamental values that enable services to continue to operate in critical circumstances. The study is instructive for policymakers and political decision-makers. The findings offer guidance for policy decision-making and implementation and leadership practice. The paper calls for more significant consideration of the complexity of early childhood education and respect for those who lead services supporting communities' resilience and the well-being of Australian children and families.
Although education's critical role in children's developmental trajectories and uplifting and supporting communities in times of change (Heckman, 2011), early childhood education was often excluded from political narratives and the communication on funding and operational changes. Unprecedented demands created personal and professional challenges, but leaders continued to perform and thrive in their roles.
This paper describes a qualitative study exploring perspectives and the enactment of leadership in early childhood education settings in challenging times. The study investigated the dispositions (made up of knowledge, skills, and values) of fifteen Australian early childhood education leaders who led the workforce, policy implementation, and practice throughout times of crisis. Complexity leadership theory (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017; Gibbs et al., 2019), characterised by emergence, interdependence, disruption, and the nature of unexpected outcomes, provided an ontological foundation and interpretive lens for the study.
The findings illuminate the challenges for leaders of early childhood education sites and identify the skills, knowledge and fundamental values that enable services to continue to operate in critical circumstances. The study is instructive for policymakers and political decision-makers. The findings offer guidance for policy decision-making and implementation and leadership practice. The paper calls for more significant consideration of the complexity of early childhood education and respect for those who lead services supporting communities' resilience and the well-being of Australian children and families.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
| Event | Australian Association of Research in Education (AARE) Conference 2023: AARE 2023 - University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Duration: 26 Nov 2023 → 30 Nov 2023 https://aare.edu.au/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231022015349/https://www.xcdsystem.com/aare/program/PJRPyvc/index.cfm (Program) https://ieaa.org.au/IEAA/IEAA/Events/External-Event.aspx?EventKey=EXT261123#:~:text=The%20Australian%20Association%20for%20Research,at%20The%20University%20of%20Melbourne.&text=We%20look%20forward%20to%20welcoming,by%20the%20University%20of%20Melbourne. |
Conference
| Conference | Australian Association of Research in Education (AARE) Conference 2023 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | Truth, Voice, Place: Critical junctures for educational research |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Melbourne |
| Period | 26/11/23 → 30/11/23 |
| Other | NOTE FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIR We look forward to welcoming you to the AARE 2023 Conference hosted by the University of Melbourne. The theme of the conference this year is Truth, Voice, Place: Critical junctures for educational research. We invite education researchers to explore critical junctures in the field. We are excited to bring together a diverse community of scholars to engage in meaningful discussions and exchange ideas on the pressing issues facing education research today. As you will see in the Call for Papers, one immediate context for the conference theme is the upcoming referendum on recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. This represents one of the many critical junctures facing educational researchers today, both locally and internationally. The conference aims to provide a welcome forum for scholars to discuss the implications of this historic moment, alongside the intersection of education research with broader local and global change. We welcome submissions from education researchers across all areas of the field, including curriculum, policy, pedagogy, assessment, and leadership. We hope that the conference will provide opportunities for transformation, new possibilities, and new collaborations. |
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