Browsing by Author "Edgren, Ronja"

The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of how early childhood education and care (ECEC) leaders and employees describe the pedagogical leadership, as well as how they would develop the leadership. In addition to that the aim is to establish an understanding of how the ECEC leaders’ description of the pedagogical leadership relates to the employees’ description. Previous studies show that ECEC leaders do not seem to have enough working hours for the pedagogical leadership although it is considered to be an important part of their job. The previous studies that have been found for the theoretical references of this study seem to mostly focus on either ECEC leaders’ or employees’ experiences of the ECEC leadership. Hence, this study aims to compare the experiences of the leaders and employees while trying to create an overall picture of the pedagogical leadership in ECEC. It is also relevant to look into the informants’ suggestions for leadership development because of the current situation where the ECEC has reached a point where changes in working conditions are necessary. Based on these aims the following four research questions were formulated; how do ECEC leaders describe the pedagogical leadership, how do ECEC employees describe the pedagogical leadership, how do the ECEC leaders’ descriptions relate to the ECEC employees’ descriptions and how would the informants develop the leadership in the ECEC? The study was conducted as qualitative research with a phenomenographic research approach. The data was collected through semi structured interviews with ECEC leaders and employees. Five leaders and three employees participated in the study. The interviews were later transcribed, and these transcripts were then analyzed with a phenomenographic analysis method. ECEC leaders and employees had very similar descriptions of pedagogical leadership on several points. In the descriptions, policy documents and visions were mentioned as essential parts of pedagogical leadership. In addition, reflection, the leader’s availability, and the offer of tools for the pedagogical activities were highlighted as important aspects. Regarding the development proposals the informants wished for more ECEC leaders, a change in the number of employees and guidance at work.