Peer-reviewed article
Co-constructed leadership in early childhood education
Jamie Huff Sisson, Martha Lash, Anne-Marie Shin, Victoria Whitington ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed article examines leadership approaches in two early childhood education settings: a university laboratory school in the USA and a public school in Australia. The researchers propose co-constructed leadership as an alternative to traditional hierarchical models, arguing it creates a more democratic learning environment. The study uses cultural models theory to analyze how leadership can be shared among community members. However, the article focuses on organizational leadership practices rather than direct measures of child well-being outcomes.
Key points
- Co-constructed leadership is presented as an alternative to hierarchical leadership in early childhood education
- The approach promotes democratic environments for learning communities
- Leadership can be developed organically and shared amongst community members
- Research on leadership in early childhood education is currently limited
- Cross-case analysis compared settings in the USA and Australia
Limitations
This article examines leadership practices and organizational approaches rather than measuring impacts on child well-being outcomes such as learning, development, health, or protection. It does not evaluate whether co-constructed leadership models actually improve children's outcomes.
Abstract
Early childhood education contexts are complex and diverse and thus require leadership approaches that connect with the values and beliefs of that field. Currently the research on leadership in early childhood education is limited and it would benefit from research into innovative approaches employed in very different but comparable locations. This article presents findings from a cross-case analysis exploring the role of leadership in two early childhood education settings: a university laboratory school in the United States of America and a public school in Australia. Drawing on cultural models theory, we argue that co-constructing leadership in context is a useful alternative to traditional hierarchical approaches to leadership. Each site’s co-construction of leadership provided an opportunity for leadership to be developed organically and to be shared amongst the community of learners. The findings demonstrate how co-constructed leadership promotes a democratic environment for all members of a learning community.