Question:
What do you consider to be the essential criteria to be nominated as the educational leader? Giveq reasons for your answer.
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The educational leader
Setting the scene
The National Quality Framework (NQF) has highlighted the role
of the educational leader in the National Law and Regulations
elating to the National Quality Standard (NQS) which provide
the regulatory framework for most long day care, preschool
kindergarten, family day care and outside school hours care
services, (ACECQA, 2011, p. 7). Under the Regulations, the
Approved (service) Provider is required to appoint an educational
leader to ‘… guide other educators in their planning and
eflection, and mentor colleagues in their implementation
practices’ (ACECQA, 2011, p. 85).
The thinking behind this focus on leadership is guided by recent
esearch demonstrating the impact of educational leadership on
outcomes for children.
The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) study (Sylva
et al.) is one of the largest and most significant studies examining
the effects of early childhood settings on children’s learning and
development.
In the follow-up study that focused specifically on leadership
effectiveness, Siraj-Blatchford and Manni XXXXXXXXXXfound that:
In the most effective settings better leadership was
characterised by a clear vision, especially with regard to
pedagogy and cu
iculum (p. 13).
Early childhood settings often pay attention to administrative
and management leadership; however, these studies reinforce
the need for close attention to cu
iculum and pedagogy and
the importance of having a designated leader in this area. This
newsletter, which explores the role of the educational leader,
is based on some of the experiences of a small group of early
childhood educators who have been meeting regularly over the
past two years to discuss ideas about their leadership and share
their successes and challenges. The group comprises educational
leaders from UTS Childcare—Blackfriars, Magic Pudding and Kids
Campus, the University of NSW (UNSW)—Tigger’s Honeypot,
and Ma
ickville Council’s Cavendish Street and Tillman Park
Early Learning Centres. I have been fortunate to be the academic
mentor for this group and enjoyed the opportunity to work with
such inspiring educators to better understand the relationship
etween leadership and learning outcomes for children.
Who is the educational leader?
While the NQF requires one person to be formally appointed to the
position of educational leader, it does not specify who that person
should be. Approved providers are able to make decisions about
this position based on:
ƒ the setting context, the size of the setting and the type of
service
ƒ the relative strengths and needs of educators, and
ƒ the qualifications, experience and personal qualities of
educators who might take on this role.
The nominated supervisor might be a natural choice for this
position but there may be another educator with particular
qualities and a passion for cu
iculum who might have more time
and energy to devote to the position.
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Example 1:
Kelly is the teacher at Cavendish Street Early Learning Centre and has for some
years operated as the centre’s educational leader. She is supported in this role
y the nominated supervisor and the management team at Ma
ickville Council.
The nominated supervisor at the centre takes responsibility for administrative
and management leadership and is the mandated educational leader under the
Regulations. Kelly’s role is to be a guide and support to the team in developing
cu
iculum. The centre is a 40-place multi-age setting with children from birth to
five years sharing the rooms of an historic house in Sydney’s inner west. Over the
past year Kelly has focused on embedding the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)
(DEEWR, 2009) into all aspects of the centre’s planning and documentation. She works
alongside educators in the children’s rooms, meets with individual educators in their
planning time and guides small groups of educators to tease out ideas or reflect
together on children’s records. Her role has evolved to make the most of an allocation
of programming and admin time provided for Kelly to support the whole team.
One of the ways Kelly supported educators recently was in planning for the centre’s
annual art show. Kelly recognised that the art show in 2011 offered an opportunity for
educators to think critically about the learning children gain from their involvement
with the arts. Kelly raised key issues for all educators to think about as they planned
with a focus on EYLF Learning Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators.
Educators were asked to engage deeply with the EYLF and consider the learning
potential of art experiences rather than focusing on the final product—the display
of art for parents and community. Having an educational leader to guide this project
esulted in a deeper and more meaningful engagement with children’s learning.
Qualities of an
educational leade
Ideally the educational leader needs to
e someone with qualifications in early
childhood education. It generally makes
sense for that person to have acquired
the greatest knowledge of education
theories and research. However, more
oadly, when appointing an educational
leader consideration should be given to an
educator’s:
ƒ knowledge of theories of learning and
development—someone who has an
interest in reading widely and sharing
information with other educators in
ite-sized chunks
ƒ knowledge of cu
iculum approaches
and the strengths and weaknesses of
each approach in particular settings or
with particular children
ƒ access to cu
ent research about
cu
iculum and a desire to guide others
in reflecting on their practice
ƒ knowledge of individual children and
learning styles so that approaches can
e differentiated to meet complex
needs of children from a range of
ackgrounds and abilities, and
ƒ personal qualities and a willingness
to listen as well as coach, mentor and
eflect alongside their team.
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Example 2
Sally is the nominated supervisor
and designated educational leader
at UTS Magic Pudding in inner city
Sydney. While she is the designated
educational leader, she is cu
ently
working closely with one of the other
teachers, Kylie, to make the most of
the skills, knowledge and interests of
another experienced educator in the
setting. Together they have a range of
strengths and can take responsibility
for different aspects of the educational
program. While Sally is cu
ently
focusing on developing the idea of
‘sustained shared thinking’ (see Siraj-
Blatchford & Sylva, 2004) particularly
with educators in the babies’ room,
Kylie is focusing on quality routines
and drawing educators’ attention
to the EYLF Principles, Practices and
Learning Outcomes as they apply to
their everyday organisation of routines.
The ideas about which areas to focus
on have come from team discussions
as the centre develops its Quality
Improvement Plan (QIP).
Creating a shared vision for children’s learning
A key aspect of the role of educational leader is to create an inspirational vision for
children’s learning and cu
iculum collaboratively. A clearly articulated vision for learning
can motivate and connect educators to work toward shared goals for children and their
learning. Using the EYLF as a starting point for discussions, the big ideas of Belonging,
Being and Becoming are often used to guide thinking about providing for the best
educational outcomes for children. As well, understanding how each of the EYLF Principles
and Practices contributes to a high-quality learning experience builds a collective set of
values and agreed approaches.
Example 3
Sylvia is the nominated supervisor and educational leader at UNSW Tigger’s Honeypot
Childcare Centre in eastern Sydney. Up until recently, Tigger’s Honeypot operated as
two separate, but co-located services—one providing long day care and the other
occasional care. They shared the same building with an interconnecting veranda.
In 2010, the University made the decision to combine the two services and operate
them as one early childhood setting. Sylvia was appointed the director of the
combined setting and immediately recognised the need to unite the two staff teams
and create a sense of agreed direction for the new Tigger’s Honeypot. Many months
were spent in conversation and debate about a new vision for this setting. It was
timely that the EYLF had just been released as it provided the opportunity to reflect
on all aspects of the two programs. The imperative that the National Quality Standard
would begin in 2012 meant that it was essential to be operating as a united service
and so much time was spent reaching agreement on a shared vision for the new
entity. One aspect of the program that has been carefully considered is that of the
daily diary and the role it plays both in communicating to families, and as evidence
for the NQS of cu
iculum decision making and planning for children’s learning. Ciara,
one of the teachers, explained that centre staff decided that for the immediate future
the qualified educators in each room would take responsibility for writing up the
daily diary (this used to be a shared task with all educators contributing) to enable
strong connections to be made between the EYLF and evidence of children’s learning.
Rather than describing daily events, the qualified educators endeavour to reflect the
cu
iculum decisions and learning that is happening across the day in documentation.
Establishing desired standards for documents such as the daily diary required each
of the team leaders to take on a new challenge and demonstrate leadership in their
oom. The long-term plan is that each team leader will act as a mentor to other
educators in producing documentation that demonstrates a strong commitment to
providing evidence of children’s learning in communication with families. This is quite
different to simply reporting on the events of the day to families.
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The NQS Professional Learning Program is funded by the
Australian Government Department of Education, Employmentand Workplace Relations.
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In conclusion
The role of educational leader will vary from setting to setting according to the context
and the needs and desires of the setting. A strong vision, which guides pedagogical
decisions and a shared approach about how to achieve best learning outcomes for
children, will enable the educational leader to effectively unite a team