TCHR3004 Leadership and Advocacy in Early Childhood Report 1 Sample

TCHR3004 Leadership and Advocacy in Early Childhood Report 1

Assignment Details

For this assessment, you are required to write a report of 1500 words. The report can include tables, charts, figures, and/or graphs to illustrate your findings where necessary.

Write a report that responds to the following three tasks.

1. Identify and explain the key principles of a (one) leadership style that you aspire to follow and give some examples of how you aim to enact this leadership style in practice (when you are a qualified ECT).

2. Demonstrate your knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of this leadership style.

3. Critically review how this leadership style influences management in an early childhood setting in relation to children, families, staff and the community.

The report must include:

1. A brief introduction of no more than 100 words outlining the purpose and content if the report.

2. A body of no more than 1320 words and broken into sections with short, appropriate headings (based upon the 3 tasks listed above).

3. A conclusion of no more than 80 words, highlighting the key findings.

4. A reference list that includes all sources of information used.

Rationale

As an early childhood educator, it is important you have an understanding about leadership and your role as a leader.

Referencing

APA 7th referencing format is required in Faculty of Education assessment tasks – link to SCU Libguide here: APA 7 Referencing.

A minimum of 10 references must be included in this assessment task, including the unit material and MyReadings, National Quality Standard and the Early Years Learning Framework (V2.0).

Solution

Introduction

The report explore transformational leadership in early childhood education is the subject of this research. It also lays out key principles, including inspiring educators, professional development, working with the community families and building strong relationships with them. The basis of this research is on theoretical foundations, which include Burns and Bass's leadership model, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and emotional intelligence. The role of transformational leadership in increasing children's learning, improving educators' performance, and promoting collaboration between families and schools is studied. The research will analyze these factors to present how effective leadership creates positive, inclusive, and high-quality early childhood for MBA assignment expert education settings that benefit all stakeholders.

Leadership in Early Childhood Education

Key Principles of Transformational Leadership

Inspiring and Motivating Others: Great vision and a positive learning environment for professional development are something that transformational leaders create, inspire, and motivate through. This means having an environment in an early childhood setting, which is an environment where educators, whether they are in a child care center, child care center home or any setting that involves children, feel valued and appreciated to do their best for the educational needs of those children because that is important and that is where we need to go to (Bakker et al., 2023). A transformational leader is an open communicator, a person who shares his or her goals and promotes teamwork. As a future Early Childhood Teacher (ECT), I will be an inspiration and encourage my colleagues to have constructive feedback while improving our work culture by recognizing other people's work, as Figure 1. It would add creativity and passion to teaching, then the educator would feel more engaged in his work. Motivated teachers initiate better learning experiences for children, resulting in their all-around development.

Figure 1: Transformational leadership characters
Source: (Bakker et al., 2023)

Encouraging Professional Development: One of the principles of transformational leadership is continuous learning and development of educators. For studying in early childhood education, teachers must keep themselves updated with the latest teaching strategies, child development theories, and curriculum changes. In the future ECT, I will facilitate promoting professional development opportunities such as training sessions, workshops, and professional discussions to be conducted periodically (Cherry, 2024). These learning experiences will provide reflective practice for educators to reflect on their teaching approaches and, with assessment of education, improve their teaching approaches. I create a culture of continuous learning by creating the habit of educators being confident and competent in their roles. The professional development that continues is beneficial not only to educators but directly to children's learning experience. Because teachers are well-informed and updated, they can modify the methods of teaching depending on the diverse needs of children. Moreover, professional development improves collaboration among educators so that they can share ideas and the best strategies to improve early childhood education.

Building Strong Relationships with Families and Communities: The relationship between transformational leaders and early childhood education is very important (Guanzon et al., 2024). The supportive environment, motivation, and stimulation involve families in learning journeys with their children; it builds trust with families. I will serve as an ECT throughout the school academic year and communicate regularly with parents, provide updates on the child's progress, and involve parents in classroom activities. Resources and support from community organizations will be available through collaborating with them. Children feel safer and more confidant of learning when families and teachers work together. The school-home relationship is strong and will support children's overall development through the best possible support.

Figure 2: Role of transformational leaders
Source: (Cherry, 2024)

Theoretical Underpinnings of Transformational Leadership

Burns and Bass’s Theory of Transformational Leadership: The concept of transformational leadership was introduced by James MacGregor Burns in 1978 and was described as leaders and followers together achieving a shared vision. Later on, Bernard Bass expanded this theory by adding four main elements: idealized influence (A leader is a role model), inspirational motivation (Leaders articulate the vision), intellectual stimulation (A leader fosters creativity), and individualized consideration (A leader fosters personal growth) as per figure 2. This theory helps leaders in early childhood education to motivate, stimulate, innovate and build a good relationship with children and families (Michigan State University, 2022). By applying these, educators have a positive and engaging learning environment for their teachers to transform their practices and be supported.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory and Its Connection to Leadership: According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, social interactions play a major role in learning and development. This theory of transformational leadership that is congruent with early childhood education involves collaboration among educators, children, and families. It helps in the professional growth of educators by encouraging teamwork and sharing knowledge. Children are better learned as they feel connected to their education because of engaging with families. Transformational leaders understand the positive impact of relationships and cultural influence, resulting in environments where every child is supported to thrive. They can understand what they can do or what they lack, as per Figure 3 (Buckley & Budzyna, 2023). In this leadership style the learning is a shared and interactive process that serves the benefit of all stakeholders.

Figure 3: Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
Source: (Buckley & Budzyna, 2023)

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence is important in transformational leadership. This means that self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and great social skills are required. High-emotional intelligent leaders have good relationships with people around them, manage stress well, and enjoy a good work environment (EHL, 2024). In the field of early childhood education, emotional intelligence is important to leaders who want to understand and support the emotional needs of both educators and children. An emotionally intelligent leader can build a caring environment in which staff is valued and children are safe in which to talk about how they feel. Through emotional intelligence, I will be able to become a compassionate and effective leader who promotes teamwork and well-being.

Impact of Transformational Leadership in Early Childhood Settings

Influence on Children’s Learning and Development: Transformational leadership has a direct effect on children's learning experience and overall development. The presence of enthusiastic educators in the teaching of a child always results in the making of learning more engaging for children. Transformational leaders are interested in using innovative teaching methods, hands-on learning and inclusive practices so children can be taught critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and more (KAYA, 2024). Also, in a classroom that fosters a respectful and nurturing, children learn essential social and emotional skills. Children who are valued and supported by their teachers learn to have more trust in their abilities and feel eager to explore new learning opportunities are more likely to become more confident and excited students of learning and are also more likely to experience successful lives as adults.

Impact on Educators and Staff Development: The role of transformational leadership in the professional development and well-being of educators is tremendously important. A good leader prompts staff to develop their skills, engage in professional learning and partner up with peers. Using this approach gives educators higher satisfaction with their jobs, less stress, and better teamwork, as shown in Figure 4 (Verlinden, 2021). Teachers become less willing to take their roles when they feel unsupported and powerless. Moreover, a transformational leader makes sure that the educators have the necessary resources and support needed to win. Ultimately, investing in staff development increases the quality of early childhood education programs.

Figure 4: Importance of leadership competencies
Source: (Verlinden, 2021)

Strengthening Family and Community Engagement: Early childhood education depends greatly on the building of strong relationships with families and communities. This is a transformational leader who actively engages parents in helping kids with his/her education through open communication and their involvement in school activities. Local organizations also bring in additional resources and support services for children and families during the course of the leaders' work. Family involved in the child's learning makes the child more secure and confident in learning (Verlinden, 2021). The building of strong community partnerships is also helpful in creating a web of support for both educators and families. A sense of belonging is the farther end of transformational leadership in the early childhood setting, and it is a collaborative, nurturing space.

Early childhood educators appreciate that transformational leadership is needed to inspire educators, support children's learning, and foster relationships with families and communities. As a future ECT, I intend to use key principles, like motivation, professional development and relationship building, to set a positive and inclusive learning environment. This leadership approach is guided by the theoretical foundations of transformational leadership and includes Burns and Bass' model, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, and emotional intelligence. Transformational leadership is when such leadership enhances outcomes, strengthens teamwork, and builds a supportive community to benefit children, educators, and families.

Conclusion

It was found that transformational leadership does matter in early childhood education. More effective and inclusive learning environments are created by leaders who inspire, support professional development, and engage with families and communities. It shows how enthusiastic and motivated teachers improve children's learning; partnership strengthens teaching and child development. Ideas about leadership confirm that leadership must be greater than that of management; it includes building a culture of collaboration and growth. Transformational leadership principles, when applied, help educate children positively on their learning experience, improve teaching standards and help create stronger early childhood education communities.

References

Bakker, A. B., Hetland, J., Olsen, O. K., & Espevik, R. (2023). Daily Transformational leadership: A Source of Inspiration for Follower performance? European Management Journal, 41(5), 700–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2022.04.004

Buckley, D., & Budzyna, D. (2023). Sociocultural Theory. Rotel.pressbooks.pub. https://rotel.pressbooks.pub/whole-child/chapter/sociocultural-theory-2/

Cherry, K. (2024, June 19). How transformational leadership can inspire others. VeryWell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-transformational-leadership-2795313

EHL. (2024, August 27). Emotional intelligence and leadership for a positive work environment. Ehl.edu; EHL Holding SA. https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/emotional-intelligence-leadership-positive-work-environment

Guanzon, R., Osias Kit Kilag, Tejada, M. L., Roche, M., Cruz, J., Kenn Manipula, & Jayger Oñas. (2024). Creating Language-Rich Environments: The Influence of
Transformational Leadership in Early Childhood Education. International Multidisciplinary Journal of Research for Innovation, Sustainability, and Excellence (IMJRISE), 1(10), 473–480. https://risejournals.org/index.php/imjrise/article/view/832

KAYA, A. (2024). The association between transformational leadership and teachers’ creativity: professional resilience and job satisfaction as mediators. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1514621

Michigan State University. (2022, July 1). The 4 “i’s” of transformational leadership. Michigan State University. https://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/leadership/4-is-of-transformational-leadership/

Verlinden, N. (2021, January 11). 15 Key Leadership Competencies Every HR Professional Should Know. AIHR. https://www.aihr.com/blog/leadership-competencies/