| CODE | EPE5031 | ||||||
| TITLE | Approaches to Leadership and Management in ECEC | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Early Childhood and Primary Education | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The role of the heads, leaders and/or managers in early years settings is multifaceted. In the local context, managers with minimal experience and qualifications are at the helm of childcare settings whereas in schools which incorporate kindergarten services, eads who generally have the qualifications and experience of working with older children find themselves responsible for the kindergarten children where they learn on the job whilst they juggle with the demands and responsibilities of running an entire school. This study-unit focuses on the roles and expectations about strong leaders who promote and strengthen the early years sector with a clear vision and understanding where the working environment allows children to thrive, families feel supported and educators are empowered to grow professionally (Action for children, 2024). The roles of leaders in early years settings are rather complex. Apart from the managerial perspective, leaders are expected to have a vision which strengthens the early years setting, inspire, empower and motivate the educators, show a caring and empathetic response towards the young children and persuade and convince families that the strategies and decisions at the early years setting are conducive to optimal learning opportunities for children. However, it is difficult for leaders of early years settings to begin their roles, equipped with the right balance of experiences, qualifications or specialised training in early childhood matters. A body of literature supports the pivotal role which administrators contribute to quality (Bloom & Abel, 2015). In this study-unit, students will be introduced to forms of leadership, managerial, administrative and organisational roles which educators face in order to ensure quality and equitable education in early years settings. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit seeks to help students understand effective leadership and management practices in early years and their impact on children鈥檚 right to quality early years education. Recognising that the quality of early learning is fundamentally linked to the competencies, knowledge, attitudes and skills of professionals, the unit highlights the critical role of collaboration in fostering enriched learning environments. Students will explore how strong leadership, organisational learning and professional development can empower teams, enhance collaborative efforts and help children develop positive learning outcomes. The study-unit emphasises the importance of reflective and ethical leadership that nurtures professional growth, inspires collective action and upholds children's rights. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify and critically describe different leadership roles and functions within early years settings, recognising their distinct contribution to organisational effectiveness; - Analyse different leadership structures, their characteristics and their implications for team dynamics and decision-making processes; - Examine how centre leaders support the professional development and growth of staff, fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration; - Critically analyse how leadership roles, functions and structures influence staff鈥檚 sense of self-efficacy, professional practices and interactions with children and families within the early years context. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Distinguish between enabling leadership strategies and traditional hierarchical models, applying their understanding to foster inclusive and adaptive leadership practices; - Develop and promote professional learning communities which can extend beyond individual settings, contributing to collaboration and knowledge-sharing across broader educational systems; - Advocate for and implement a culture of evaluation aimed at developing a reflective approach to organising and evaluating pedagogical practice towards ongoing professionalisation of ECEC educators and enhancing pedagogical quality. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Anderson, B. & Cook, T. (2021.) Developing Early Years leadership: examining the practice of facilitation in and through action research. Educational Action Research, 29 (5), 787-803. - Colmer, K. (2017). Collaborative professional learning: contributing to the growth of leadership, professional identity and professionalism. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(3), 436-449. - Fardoe, G. (2024). Calling for a change in childcare leadership discourse: "We have both leaders and managers in our settings." In M. Cutajar & C. Bonello (Eds.), Educational leadership in transition: Innovative perspectives and practices for the 21st century, in Malta and beyond (pp. 55鈥�73). Malta University Distributors. - Fons茅n, E., Szecsi, T., Kupila, P., Liinamaa, T., Halpern, C. & Repo, M. (2023). Teachers鈥� pedagogical leadership in early childhood education. Educational Research, 65(1), 1-23. - Gibbs, L. (2022). Leadership emergence and development: Organizations shaping leading in early childhood education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50(4), 672-693. - Hard, H. & J贸nsd贸ttir, A.H. (2013). Leadership is not a dirty word: Exploring and embracing leadership in ECEC. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 21(3), 311-325. - Heikka, J. Pitk盲niemi, H., Kettukangas, T. & Hyttinen, T. (2021). Distributed pedagogical leadership and teacher leadership in early childhood education contexts. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 24(3), 333-348. - Heikkinen, K. M., Ahtiainen, R., Fons茅n, E. & Kallioniemi, A. (2024). Leadership as a profession in early childhood education and care. Educational Research, 66(3), 347鈥�363. - Henderson, L. (2016.) 鈥楽omeone had to have faith in them as professionals鈥�: an evaluation of an action research project to develop educational leadership across the early years. Educational Action Research, 25(3), 387鈥�401. - Male, T. Palaiologou, I. & Ince, A. (2024). Leadership behaviours during crises: cases from early childhood education and care in England. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 32(5), 852-864. - Muscat, T., Bonello, C., Camilleri, R., Milton, J., & Deguara, J. (2024). Home-sweet-school: Insights from school leaders on leading from home during the pandemic. In M. Cutajar & C. Bonello (Eds.), Educational leadership in transition: Innovative perspectives and practices for the 21st century, in Malta and beyond (pp. 213鈥�228). Malta University Distributors. - Nicholson, J., Kuhl, K. Maniates, H., Lin, B. & Bonetti, S. (2020). A review of the literature on leadership in early childhood: examining epistemological foundations and considerations of social justice. Early Child Development and Care, 190 (2), 91-122. - Nicholson, J. M., & Kroll, L. (2014). Developing leadership for early childhood professionals through oral inquiry: strengthening equity through making particulars visible in dilemmas of practice. Early Child Development and Care, 185(1), 17鈥�43. - OECD. (2021). "Leadership and management in early childhood education and care centres" (Chap 4, pp. 166-219), in Building a High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce: Further Results from the Starting Strong Survey 2018, OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/c22b7c22-en. - Opazo, M.J., de la Fuente, L., Valenzuela, J.P. & Vanni, X. (2023). You are stuck here, at the office: Chilean ECEC principals鈥� pedagogical leadership in JUNJI and Integra Foundation. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 31 (2), 191-204. - Palaiologou, I., & Male, T. (2019). Leadership in early childhood education: The case for pedagogical praxis. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 20(1), 23-34. - Sakr, M. Halls, K. & Cooper, K. (2024). Early Years leadership development during workforce crisis: perspectives of 24 UK training providers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 32(1), 101-113. Supplementary Readings: - Cutajar, M. and Bonello, C. (2024) Educational leadership in transition: Innovative perspectives and practices for the 21st century, in Malta and beyond. Malta University Distributors. - Hansen, L.S. & Ringsmose, C. 2023. Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care through Leadership and Organizational Learning. Organizational and Professional Development. International perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development Series Volume 41. Springer. https://link-springer-com.ejournals.um.edu.mt/book/10.1007/978-3-031-39419-5 (available in open access). |
||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||
| LECTURER/S | |||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||