Question 1:
After watching ‘the story of stuff’ and 'the story of solutions' and reflecting on the reading by Gibson (2015, p XXXXXXXXXXanswer the following:
1. How does the knowledge you have gained make you think differently about your role as a leader in an early childhood setting? (250words)
Gibson, M XXXXXXXXXXLeadership for creating cultures of sustainability [Ebook]. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cam
idge University Press. Retrieved from https:
doms.csu.edu.au/csu/file/e1afd XXXXXXXXXXa9ed-833b924f8178/1/gibson-m1.pdf
YouTube XXXXXXXXXXThe Story of Solutions [Video]. Retrieved from https:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkRvc-sOKk
YouTube XXXXXXXXXXThe Story of Stuff [Video]. Retrieved from https:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM
Leadership for creating cultures of sustainability
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Reading Description:
Gibson, M XXXXXXXXXXLeadership for creating cultures of sustainability. In J. M. Davis (Ed.),
XXXXXXXXXXYoung children and the environment : early education for sustainability (2nd ed.)
XXXXXXXXXXpp XXXXXXXXXXPort Melbourne, Victoria : Cam
idge University Press.
Reading Description Disclaimer:
(This reference information is provided as a guide only, and may not conform to the required
eferencing standards for your subject)
Chapter 3
Editor's note
In this revised chapter, Megan Gibson again
discusses the vital role of leadership in creating
change for sustainability in an early childhood
education and care (ECEC) setting. Megan was
the Director of Campus Kindergarten, a long day
care centre in Brisbane, in the Australian state of
Queensland, when it initiated its Sustainable
Planet Project (SPP) in the late 1990s, a time
when ECEfS was in its infancy. Megan reflects
on her personal experiences at the centre and
outlines the theoretical underpinnings that
helped to shape her work as an innovative leader
and a leader of innovation in ECEfS.
Megan also updates her discussion of the four
frames of leadership, organisational culture,
professional development and organisational
change and how they can contribute to creating
and shaping whole-centre approaches to ECEfS.
She re-emphasises that educational and
organisational leadership style plays an essential
ole in creating cultures of sustainability within a
centre and community, and that teacher
professional development within a collaborative
learning community is a vital aspect for creating
change.
Young Children and the Environment
To our children's children
The glad tomo
ow
y Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly Kath Walker, 1970, p. 40)
An opportunity to lead for EfS
For close to a decade I had the privilege to work within the Campus Kindergarten community 1 -a
unique place for children, families and teachers. This community's interest in environmental
issues led to the development of the SPP. From its inception at a staff professional development
etreat, this project permeated the everyday 'lifeworld' (Sergiovanni 2003, p. 16) at the centre.
The SPP was actively em
aced by staff, children and families at Campus Kindergarten, and
slowly evolved over time. My role as Director provided an opportunity and a responsibility, as I
saw it, to set the conditions that would value and empower peop le in this learning community.
These would in turn support the growth of the SPP, and at the same time engender a stronger
sense of collegiality. These conditions created the space in which to
ing about a revolution
in thinking and actions in regard to EfS. So deep were the changes that they provided a
platform for a shift in the centre's culture. Some years on from the inception of the SPP, I
now lecture in early childhood teacher education, mainly in the area of leadership. What I initially
practised and wrote about in the earlier version of this chapter in the first edition of this text
emains ingrained in my work, and worthy of restating. lt is important to note, too, that the early
childhood policy landscape in Australia has shifted considerably since I was Campus
Kindergarten's Director. The national Early Years Learning Framework (Australian
Government. Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations 2009) and the
National Quality Framework (ACECQA n.d.) include requirements that early childhood centres
afford attention to EfS. This was not previously the case and when the SPP was conceived
there were no legislative requirements for centres to work with principles of EfS.
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the role of leadership in creating a culture of sustainability. It is
ased on my former position as Director at Campus Kindergarten and the leadership
that was
ought to the centre's SPP. In this discussion, the significant leadership roles
of staff, parents and children are explored and interfaced with the literature. The first
part of this chapter sets the scene by providing the contextual background of the early
childhood centre and the origins of the SPP. In the second part of the chapter, Campus
Kindergarten's SPP is further explored through the four frames of leadership, organisa
tional culture, professional deuelopment and organisational change. Rather than being
distinct frames, each works as an organiser and builds upon the others, creating deep
and connected ways of understanding the SPP. Throughout these four frames, vignettes
of the project from my time as Director highlight examples of practice that created a
culture of sustainability.
1 I am appreciative of the Campus Kindergarten Board of Management, the team of staff, parents and children who
afforded me the opportunity to work with an extraordinary community of people XXXXXXXXXX).
Chapter 3 · · · · , .
As the reader, you are encouraged to engage with the 'provocations' interspersed
throughout the chapter, to support your thinking and meaning making around leader
ship for creating cultures of sustainability. Through updating and retelling this story,
I hope to provide a window into the structures and systems that supported the project
and to share insights into how to
ing about collective change so that a community of
people feel empowered and have ownership. Therefore, this chapter explores some of
the conditions, systems and structures that enable EfS to grow in an early childhood
setting.
Part one: The context
Campus Kindergarten is an ECEC centre situated on the St Lucia campus of the
University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. It is located in a 'green co
idor' on
the university's site map, and has expansive outdoor playspaces, dominated by gum
trees and open spaces. The kindergarten building was the original university care
taker's cottage, and has been extended and renovated since the centre's opening in
1971. The building houses three main kindergarten rooms, bathrooms, kitchen and
storerooms. Verandas wrap around the building and, due to the warm climate in
Brisbane, there is a strong focus on the outdoors, with links between the indoor and
outdoor environments.
During my time as Director, the centre operated dually as a long day care centre and
a kindergarten/preschool and opened from 8.00 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday
during school terms. Children were enrolled from 2.5 years of age to approximately
5 years of age, or school-entry age. Approximately 70 per cent of families who accessed
the centre were engaged in work or study at the university, with families coming from a
Figure 3.1 Campus Kindergarten, University of Queensland (2002)
Young Children and the Environment
------�
wide range of language and cultural backgrounds. Approximately 80 children across
three age groups attended weekly. At the time of my directorship, the teaching team
comprised 19 full-time and part-time staff, including teachers, group leaders, assistants
and those working in administrative roles.
Integral to Campus Kindergarten's operation was families' involvement and con
tributions, which enabled a strong sense of community. There were varied ways
through which families were able to be formally involved, including sitting on the
Board of Management. This group of both past and present parents, together with
people outside the Campus Kindergarten community who offered particular skills to
the centre's operation (for example, an early childhood professional and an account
ant), met approximately five times during the year. A systematic and strategic system
for policy development and review supported a strong organisational structure.
Another formal way for parents to participate was through the 'class reps' system.
Each of the three classrooms had two parent representatives who met together regu
larly to coordinate centre-based social and fundraising events. Parents were also
encouraged to contribute informally by spending time in the centre, sharing interests,
skills and ho
ies. Both formal and informal levels of families' involvement were
important aspects of the centre's approach to EfS.
During my directorship, there was strong philosophical debate and program cri
tique at Campus Kindergarten, which contributed towards program evolution and
enewed approaches to pedagogy. The centre's educational philosophy drew upon a
number of theorists, including Malaguzzi (1998), Rinaldi (2006), Gardner (2006),
Dahlberg, Moss and Pence XXXXXXXXXXand Vygotsky XXXXXXXXXXKey elements that were embed
ded into the centre's philosophy at the time I was Director were that educational and
management practices be child-centred, holistic and futures-oriented. Key organisa
tional values of rights, respect and trust were articulated through centre policy and
cu
iculum documents and staff enactment of the culture and program (Campus
Kindergarten XXXXXXXXXXChildren's rights and their say in what happens in the centre
were integral in these values. In a practical sense, this meant that the teachers made
connections between their care and concern for children's wellbeing, with concern and
espect for the centre's natural and built environments, and that these were embedded
into everyday practices. A strong sense of democracy, shared decision making and
consultation were key features in the centre - within classrooms and within centre
management. These qualities underpinned all facets of Campus Kindergarten's organ
isation and culture, including the SPP.
Origins and first steps of the SPP
When I first commenced as Director of Campus Kindergarten