Dissertation
Early childhood education leader stories as social justice praxis: a narrative exploration of directors' leadership
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Sep 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001838
Abstract
This qualitative research explored the experience of eight Early Childhood Education (ECE) leaders invited to engage in telling their leader stories. Leader stories refers to the narrative descriptions that leaders provide about themselves, their leadership, and their leadership practices. This research engaged leaders in the consideration of several questions. These questions were: 1) How do ECE leaders describe their identities across domains of identity (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation)? 2) How do ECE leaders understand and articulate the role of their personal identities in their leadership? 3) How do ECE leaders seek to understand the needs of children in their care and the impact of practices and policies on diverse learners? and 4) What impact do the narrative practices of self-inquiry, critical reflection, and dialogue have on an ECE directors' understanding of themselves as leaders who can be more responsive to the needs of diverse learners, e.g., lead towards social justice? Interconnectedness of the findings demonstrates that ECE leaders' stories of who they are, why they lead, how they serve children, and how they engage in work with social justice are tied to one another. The lived experiences and identities of leaders both in and outside of their leadership roles directly impacts their leadership and those they lead and serve. Engagement with reflection and inquiry is also embedded in their stories, suggesting that these leaders bring an openness to not just leading but to understanding how their leadership impacts their vision(s) to serve children. The findings suggest that tools that help leaders to see their own leadership and the interconnectivity of their identities might be useful in their practices. Several concrete applications of these findings are worth noting. The bridge between Capper's (2019) identity development model for leaders of social justice, Bronfenbrenner's (2005) model for child development, and Furman's (2012) outline of social justice leadership praxis is worth exploring more deeply. Inviting leaders to discover these interconnectivities may provide them a meaningful opportunity to expand their practices, deepen their awareness of the power of what they already do, and help newer leaders more explicitly own some of the ways they might understand and capitalize on these connections.
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Details
- Title
- Early childhood education leader stories as social justice praxis
- Creators
- Traci Michelle Childress
- Contributors
- Michael J. Haslip (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 215 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021230311804721