Swings + Roundabouts Spring 2021

In recent literature and within New Zealand education policies and frameworks there has been a strong focus on educational and distributed leadership within early learning, with an emphasis on the role of positional leaders, professional learning and to improve student outcomes. This includes the Education Review Office (2020) document, Te Ara Poutama, “Piki Ake, Kake Ake – for those who aspire to seek excellence” - Indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most, which has within its five indicators two which relate directly to distribution leadership: ‘Collaborative professional learning and development builds knowledge and capability’ and ‘Leadership fosters collaboration and improvement’. The Education Council (2018) document, Educational Leadership Capability Framework has nine educational capabilities to advance educational leadership through its high-level guidelines, which includes encouraging the capacity for building and sustaining collective leadership and professional community. Distributed leadership is often touted as a natural way for ECE centres to increase collective leadership including encouraging teachers to see themselves as leaderful or everyday leaders. Distributed leadership can be summarised as being dispersed between both those in positional and teaching roles, with a focus on collaboration, teachers sharing their expertise, a collective vision, shared meaning, a shift of power with the ability for more than one person (positional leader) to influence and create change when there is an emphasis on teacher leadership and student outcomes. This connection to teacher leadership within distributed leadership argues Heikka et al. (2018) gives teachers the opportunities and agency to create change and guide organisation improvement through a variety of strategies such as “modelling professional attitudes, coaching colleagues, collaborating with colleagues and advocating for change” (Fairman & Mackenzie, 2015, as cited in Heikka et al., 2018, p. 145). Other evidence also shows that being involved in leadership increases “teachers’ self-efficacy and motivation” (Day et al, cited in Harris, 2013, p. 550) with an increase in staff morale which has the potential to correlate to positive student behaviour and learning outcomes (Harris, 2013). Other advantages found in the literature to support the empowerment of teachers within a distributed leadership approach included increased staff satisfaction and “effective professional learning for teachers” (Leithwood et al., 2009, cited in Denee & Thornton, 2018, p. 2). Successful distributed leadership occurs when teachers share their expertise on pedagogy, there is support to developing leadership, planning and cooperation, and there is a shared vision (Firestone & Martinez, 2007; Harris, 2008; Mascall et al., 2008; Muijs & Harris, 2007, as cited in Heikka et al., 2018). Teacher leadership states Frost (2008, cited in Bush & Glover, 2014) can be summarised as shared leadership, knowledge building, developing initiatives and giving teachers a voice under both formal and informal leadership allowing teachers to feel empowered (Muijs & Harris, 2007, cited in Bush & Glover, 2014). Teacher leadership can also be enacted by taking responsibility for developing curriculum, mentoring students, networking, sharing information and resources (Weisz-Koves, 2011). Weisz-Koves (2011) argues that teacher leadership when all teachers participate in a learning/teaching community fosters their leadership potential through taking responsibility (both personal and group) to improve student outcomes and aligns with Enacting teacher leadership By Trudi Sutcliffe September 2021 { 20 }