Jo Brownlee
Di Nailon
Emma Tickle
Queensland University of Technology

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Australia are currently a focus of social and economic policy. However, early childhood leadership in Australia is yet to develop a clear identity that will enable the field to develop to its full potential. In this paper we investigate a unique theoretical framework for constructing leadership identity, based on transformational leadership and epistemological beliefs. Using semistructured interviews, 15 childcare directors from a large metropolitan area in Australia were asked to describe their beliefs about knowing in the context of their leadership practices. The findings showed that leaders (n = 5) who espoused predominantly evaluativist beliefs about knowing were more likely to describe transformational leadership behaviours in the context of childcare leadership. A number of leaders held mixed beliefs (n = 9) about knowing and described their leadership practice in ways that reflected both transactional and transformational leadership styles. Finally, one leader described predominantly objectivist epistemological beliefs and transactional beliefs about leadership. These preliminary findings show that there seems to be a relationship between core epistemological beliefs and beliefs about leadership practices and offers a new way to characterise leadership in ECEC in Australia.

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood – Volume 35 No 3 September 2010

Don't forget, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood is tax deductible for early childhood professionals

You can purchase this issue of the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood now.

Back to the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood Vol. 35 No 3 September 2010

Back to the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

Other editions of the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood