ECEs as Leaders

“Who me, a leader?”

ECE Leaders in Atlantic Canada have many names: Directors, Operators, Administrators, Home Childcare Providers, Pedagogical Leads – to name just a few. Some own their centres and employ many ECEs, others serve as Executive Directors of non-profit early learning and care organizations, and others operate out of their homes as solopreneurs. ECEs also serve as informal leaders through mentoring peers and students, and by participating in the collaborative leadership of their centre.

Regardless of the title, ECE leaders are knowledgeable and dedicated professionals who focus on serving their communities through providing reliable, high-quality early learning and care for children.

In 2022, as part of the second round of the ECE Lab, the lab team conducted interviews with 18 early learning centre operators, directors and administrators. The perpsectives offered by these leaders were combined with learning harvested from the interviews and prototypes conducted in the first round of the lab. Together, the data painted a detailed portrait of ECE leaders: what motivates them, the paths they take to leadership, and how they practice leadership in their roles — as managers, owners, pedagogical leads, peer leaders, and/or mentors.

octopus

Leadership in ECE

Leaders at the heart

Pedagogical leadership definitions

Leadership and quality

Leadership and workforce

Leadership challenges

Grow your leadership skills

What is Pedagogical leadership in the ECE context?

In interviews, leaders shared the philosophies and values that underpin their approaches to pedagogical leadership. Leaders use these values to guide both pedagogical practice and administrative management.

…in my heart, I really like working with children. I never said, one day I’m gonna be a manager or director or anything like that. It’s definitely for the children and engaging the educators in their practices, (that’s) where my love is.

Definitions of pedagogical leadership from literature

Academic and industry research on Early Childhood Education describes pedagogical leadership responsibilities as:

  • Cultural pedagogy – An approach to teaching and modeling cultural identity construction as a form of relationship building between students and teachers. Langford, R. Who is a Good Early Childhood Educator?, 2007.
  • Leading learning – A shared vision for the learning processes for children, parents and professionals, and an empowered team who reflect on their own working and learning processes. Stremel, P. Leadership in Early Childhood Education, 2016.

Administrative leadership vs. pedagogical leadership

In both field and desk research for the lab, the definitions of leadership, administrative management, and pedagogical leadership are fuzzy and overlapping. Leaders reported that administrative decisions are often about organizing resources for education and care activities within financial, regulatory and practical constraints. Curriculums across the region discuss the environment as part of the early learning team. Management decisions that impact who is delivering early learning and care, where it is happening, the relationships and access to community and parents – these are all intertwining pedagogical and administrative concerns.

Pedagogical leadership in Atlantic Canada

PEI

The Department of Education and Lifelong Learning in Prince Edward Island talks about leadership like this:

Pedagogy: The understanding of how learning takes place and the philosophy and practice that support that understanding of learning. Pedagogy involves early childhood educators’ professional practice, especially those aspects that involve buildings and nurturing relationships, curriculum decision – making, teaching and learning.

Source: PE/ Early Learning Framework, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, Government of PEl, 2011

NB Anglophone

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in New Brunswick talks about leadership like this (for anglophone centres):

Pedagogical Leader: An individual who leads the teaching and learning process

Pedagogy: The methods, philosophies and theories of the teaching and learning process. The process of pedagogy is to examine our teaching methods with the intention of growing and evolving our practice.

Source: 6 Principles of Pedagogical Leadership, Department of Education and Early Childhood Department, Government of New Brunswick, 2022

NB Francophone

The Politique d’ Aménagement Linguistique et Culturel (PALC)* in New Brunswick talks about leadership like this (for francophone centres in minority settings):

Assurer à l’ensemble du personnel enseignant, incluant les directions d’école, une formation initiale et continue qui favorise l’émergence d’un leadership culturel partagé de même qu’un savoir-faire pédagogique axé sur le milieu minoritaire.

Provide all teaching staff, including principals, with initial and ongoing training that fosters the emergence of a shared cultural leadership and pedagogical know-how focused on the minority setting. (PALC p.71, Cl 2)

*”The PALC set up in 2014 to create a pedagogy specific to the francophone minority setting by emphasizing the involvement and commitment of various partners.” (MEDPE 2014)

Source: The Politique d’ Aménagemint Linguistique ot Culturel, Ministre de l’Éducation et du Développement de la petite enfance, 2014

NL

The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland & Labrador (AECENL) in Newfoundland & Labrador talks about leadership like this:

”Guiding pedagogical practice, supporting educators in their work with children and families as well in their professional learning journey.”

Source: Association of Early Childhood Educators Newfoundland & Labrador, 2022