Understanding and exploring educational leadership

ACECQA’s National Education Leader, Rhonda Livingstone shares her insight into National Quality Framework topics of interest. 

‘Developing and supporting teams to achieve the best outcomes for children is at the very heart of educational leadership’ (ACECQA) Educational leaders are highly valued and instrumental in establishing, delivering, maintaining and continually improving quality education and care for Australia’s children.

ACECQA’s The Educational Leader Resource and accompanying videos provide insights into, and perspectives of, the role through the eyes of educational leaders, academics and service leaders.

In this blog, we’ll be unpacking Part Two of the Resource: A model for understanding and exploring educational leadership. In this part of the Resource, we are introduced to the Educational Leadership Model (ELM) as a way to analyse and advocate for the role within our own services and the wider Australian context.

The dimensions of the ELM are described first in terms of what they mean for an educational leader and then explored in more detail by five leading Australian academics. They examine the dimensions from their own perspectives, sharing research insights and practical suggestions. The ELM invites educational leaders to broaden their thinking and reflect on the role as one that requires growth and development of key capabilities. The model assists those who are interested in imagining the possibilities of the role for themselves, as professionals, while also maintaining the responsibilities of the role, under the National Law.

The ELM has been designed to support educational leaders in empowering the educator teams in diverse settings, as they enrich and promote children’s learning and wellbeing. The ELM comprises four key elements – knowledge, professionalism, relationships and reflection – that intersect and form the foundation of educational leadership. 

Knowledge 

Professor Frances Press unpacks what an educational leader needs to know, the different types of knowledge, and how it is used and developed. She considers the way knowledge changes over time according to the context of where we work, where we live and where we are in our own lives. When we think about knowledge, it is helpful to think about the category and type of knowledge that we use in our work with children and families.

A category of knowledge includes information, evidence and understanding and recognising that the types of knowledge central to our work with children, families and educators includes pedagogical, theoretical and contextual knowledge. Continuing to build your knowledge and sharing your knowledge is important – as an educational leader, it is important that you support and promote this in your educator team.

 

Professionalism The process of setting the tone for professionalism begins with educational leaders thinking of themselves as professionals with ethical responsibilities to which they hold themselves accountable. Professionalism is also about advocating for the place of effective educational programs and practice in the delivery of children’s education and care. From time to time, it might mean taking courageous action and having the capacity to speak up for children’s right to quality education.

Dr Lennie Barblett outlines further how educators demonstrate their professionalism in their everyday work, through their relationships with children, families, colleagues and community members. An educational leader isn’t just a professional – he or she is someone who uses their developed professionalism to lead educator teams as they connect with each other to build a positive organisational culture where learning is key.

 

Relationships Much of what is prescribed and promoted as fundamental to the educational leader role, and is vital for bringing ideas to fruition, relies on effective and collaborative relationships. More than just gaining agreement, collegial and collaborative relationships promote a shared vision of quality practices that stand the test of time. Professor Andrea Nolan shares with readers a greater understanding of the foundations that we need to build and maintain effective relationships. Some examples include motivation, a sense of empowerment, team leadership and strong communication skills. A respectful and trusting relationship is established through the use of non-judgemental communication and by ensuring confidentiality (Nolan & Molla, 2017), where educators feel a sense of comfort to freely and reflectively critique practice.

 

Reflection This dimension of the ELM recognises that educational leaders are reflective professionals who consider the impact of their work and that of others, on children, families, colleagues and the wider education and care community. Reflection is essential to the everyday work of an educational leader, however it isn’t always easy to undertake. Dr Jennifer Cartmel and Dr Marilyn Casley remind us that reflection features in our approved learning frameworks as a guiding principle and practice of children’s education and care. Reflection is an important skill of the educational leader, one that is supported by the other dimensions of the ELM, in particular, the building of quality relationships and a professional learning community. Remember, reflective practice is enhanced through quality relationships as educator teams find common ground and create partnerships that provide high quality environments in which children grow and develop to their full potential.

 Throughout the blog, we’ve posed reflective questions you can use to further build your understanding and experience with each dimension of the ELM. I encourage you to explore the four dimensions of the ELM, what they mean for you as an educational leader and how you might further develop the key capabilities of knowledge, professionalism, relationships and reflection. The deeper unpacking of the four dimensions in The Educational Leader Resource by leading researchers and academics is useful to support you on your continuous improvement journey.

Further reading and resources

• ACECQA – The Educational Leader Resource
• ACECQA – Information sheet – The Role of the Educational Leader
• ACECQA –  The Educational Leader Resource videos