Abstract:
This thesis explores teachers’, leaders’ and managers’ working knowledge of the concepts of
leadership and management in early childhood education and what differentiation if any
exists between these two concepts. A qualitative, interpretive approach was utilised to guide
the research in this underrepresented area. Data were gathered through focus groups
interviews, semi-structured individual interviews and a review of centre documentation from
across two early childhood centres in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Thematic analysis
exposed pivotal themes from across the three data sources. Findings revealed teachers’,
leaders’ and managers’ viewpoints of leadership and management as both separate and
combined concepts, while highlighting some of the complexities experienced and the
contributors to these complexities in relation to daily practice. Diverse differentiations
between the concepts were explained and aligned to the responsibilities role-modelled by
other team leaders and centre managers they had encountered within their practice.
There appeared to be similar experiences of negative power and privilege used by past senior
colleagues towards the participants resulting in management being perceived to be more
important than leadership and holding more authority. This study argues that a robust
working knowledge of the concepts of leadership and management in early childhood
education is important although underdeveloped. This study shows that neither concept is
well understood nor is a clear differentiation recognised. Implications for leadership and
management with the early childhood sector include professional learning opportunities for
leaders and managers to advance understandings of these concepts, including ways to
mitigate negative experiences of power and privilege, and the inclusion of these concepts
within course content in undergraduate studies to contribute to a better understanding of the
concept of leadership and management and how they can be intertwined in practice when
necessary.
