Leadership in early childhoodPaper Details
You are to write an essay about leadership in early childhood education. It should have 3 parts:

What is leadership? This discussion of leadership should be based on the module content and the associated readings.
What is your leadership philosophy? This should be a discussion of your own philosophy that should reflect theory and your emerging ideas of leadership and how they apply to you as an ECEC professional. You may like to draw upon a variety of theories, subject content and personal experiences to develop this philosophy.
How will you enact that philosophy in an early childhood setting? You should include clear links to how you might espouse that philosophy in an early childhood setting, as an early childhood professional.
[Your philosophy will underpin your approaches to the Management tasks you choose to undertake in Module 2.]
Note: This is an essay. It is expected that you will include a well-constructed introduction and conclusion, and well-formed, complete sentences and paragraphs. You can have headings for each section or link them together if you are confident to do so.

Rationale
An essential part of leadership is the ability to articulate beliefs and information to others. This gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your emerging ideas of leadership and your own progress in developing as a leader.

In education and in early childhood education in particular, there is an increasing need to communicate effectively with a range of participants. This task is designed to afford you the opportunity to translate your leadership philosophy to others. This is designed to afford you the chance to articulate the theoretical and conceptual ideas discussed in the subject content.

This assessment addresses the following subject learning objectives:

-be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of leadership theories in educational contexts;
-be able to demonstrate an understanding of the challenging nature of leadership, particularly in terms of gender and the field of early childhood education and care;
-be able to demonstrate an understanding of, and an ability to apply a variety of administrative and leadership skills in educational contexts;
-be able to strategically apply leadership skills for making positive change for individuals, families and communities, in a diverse range of contexts;
-understand the enactment of leadership within classrooms, services/schools and communities;
Marking criteria
This assessment will be marked according to the following criteria:

1. Discussion of leadership (15 marks)

2. Personal philosophy of leadership (10 marks)

3. Discussion of enacting your philosophy of leadership in the workplace (10 marks)

4. Academic writing, grammar and referencing (5 marks)

Presentation:
Should be typed in 12 point font with 1.5 spacing. Essay format with in text referencing and bibliography.

Please choose 5 to reference from the following:
Recommended reading / resources;

Barnes, S., ‘Curriculum Club’-discussing, debating and disrupting early childhood curriculum. Paper presented at PECERA, 8th Annual conference, Rethinking Early Childhood Education, Hong Kong, July, 4-7.

Broinowski, I. (2004). Managing children’s services. Tertiary Press, Croydon

Brownlee, J., Nailon, D., & Tickle, E. (2010) Constructing leadership in child care: Epistomological beliefs and transformational leadership, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 35(3). 950104.

Carter, M., &Curtis, D. (2010) The visionary director. St Paul: Redleaf Press.

Decker, C., Decker, J., Freeman, N., & Knopf, H. (2009). Planning and administering early childhood programs, Pearson, New Jersey

Duignan, P. (2006). Educational leadership: key challenges and ethical tensions. Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.

Duignan, P., (2012). Educational leadership: together creating ethical learning environments (2nd ed). Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.

Ebbeck, M., & Waniganayake, M. (2004), Early childhood professionals: Leading today and tomorrow. Maclennan and Petty, Sydney.

Hard, L. (2006) Horizontal Violence in early childhood education and care: Implications for leadership enactment. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 31(3), 40-47.

Kieff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education: Making a difference for young children and families, Pearson, New Jersey

Lárusdóttir, S, H. (2007). ‘The fact that I’m a woman may have been a deciding factor’: The moral dilemmas of an Icelandic Headteacher. Educational Management Administration and Leadership. 35(2), 261-276.

Rodd, J. (2006). Leadership in early childhood, Allen & Unwin: Sydney.

Sinclair, A. (2005). Doing leadership differently: gender,power and sexuality in a changing business culture. Australian Institute of Management, Carlton.

Sinclair, A. (2007). Leadership for the disillusioned. Moving beyond myths and heroes to leading that liberates. Allen and Unwin: Sydney.

York-Barr, J., & Duke, D. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 255-316.

Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Fenech,M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W. (2012). Leadership: Contexts and complexities in early childhood education, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.