Leading for Change in Early Care and Education

Featuring both research findings and practical recommendations, this book presents an innovative framework for nurturing leadership in the care and education of young children. Early educators are often seen as the objects of change, rather than the architects and co-creators of change. Douglass calls for a paradigm shift in thinking that challenges many long-held stereotypes about the early care and education workforce’s capacity to lead change. Case studies show how educators use their expertise every day to make a difference in the lives of children and families. These accounts demonstrate concrete strategies for expanding current thinking about who can be leaders for change and for developing more inclusive pathways for leadership. This book has the potential to revolutionize the field with a new model for developing and nurturing innovative, entrepreneurial, and skilled early educator leaders capable of driving transformative change—from classrooms and home-based programs to communities and beyond.

Book Features:

• A cross-disciplinary examination of leadership, improvement, and innovation.
• A framework for building ecosystems that supports professional growth and teacher retention.
• Case studies that reveal immense untapped potential from within the early care and education workforce.
• A critical look at the current state of leadership and quality improvement in early childhood education.

Anne L. Douglass is associate professor and founding executive director at the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation , University of Massachusetts Boston.

"The core arguments and specific suggestions addressed in this book have much to offer anyone who cares about young children and has an interest in the future state of early care and education in our country."

—Teachers College Record

“Anne Douglass has written a book that calls attention to and offers a pathway for perhaps the greatest, yet least visible, challenge facing the early care and education field today: the leadership development gap. This gap interferes with our ability to enact meaningful, systemic change, and Douglass boldly calls for a re-envisioning of access to leadership in early care and education.”
—From the foreword by Lea J. E. Austin, co-director, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley

“Douglass provides a new and motivating lens for improving early childhood education 'on the ground.' By focusing on the potential of ECE's ‘teaching ranks’ to drive programmatic and organizational improvements, new thinking is offered for addressing the field's leadership development gap and improving the caliber and impact of children's, parents', teachers', and administrators' relational experiences. It is a welcome and significant contribution to ECE as a field of practice.”
—Stacie G. Goffin, principal, Goffin Strategy Group

"This book provides early childhood professionals with a new framework for thinking about leadership development, including research findings and practical recommendations to create clear pathways and a supportive ecosystem."
—Marilou Hyson, consultant, Early Childhood Development and Education

Foreword by Lea J. E. Austin

Preface

Chapter 1. Developing Leadership Within: The Next Frontier of Early Care and Education
   The Problem
   The Transformative Opportunity
   What to Expect in This Book
   Conclusion

PART I: THEORETICAL AND RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE

Chapter 2. Rethinking Change in Early Care and Education
   Change in Early Care and Education
   Challenges of Change
   Understanding Barriers to Change
   Systems Thinking
   The Science of Relational Coordination
   The Science of Improvement
   Innovation
   Conclusion

Chapter 3. Rethinking Leadership in Early Care and Education
   The Challenge and the Opportunity: Developing Leadership for Change in ECE
   Impact of ECE Leadership Development
   Understanding the Leadership Development Gap
   The Possibilities of Early Educator Leadership
   Conclusion

Chapter 4. Leading Change, Improvement, and Innovation
   A Paradigm Shift
   Five Reasons to Develop Leadership for Change
   Conclusion

PART II: LEADERSHIP PATHWAYS

Chapter 5. The Possibilities of Early Educator Leadership
   Believing
   Developing as Leaders
   Lessons from Leadership Development
   Conclusion

Chapter 6. Building Leadership Pathways
   Taking Action to Lead Change
   Seeking and Co-Creating Leadership Pathways
   Conclusion

Chapter 7. Redesigning Quality Improvement and Professional Development
   Rethinking Leadership in Quality Improvement and Professional Development
   The Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model
   What Happens in a BSC?
   Three Foundational Ideas
   The BSC on Trauma-Informed ECE
   Conclusion

PART III: A LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEM: CULTIVATING THE LEADERSHIP WE NEED

Chapter 8. What Is a Leadership Development Ecosystem and Why Do We Need One?
   Early Educators Co-Creating a Vision for an Ecosystem
   What Is a Leadership Development Ecosystem?
   Why Do We Need a Leadership Development Ecosystem?
   The Foundations for a Leadership Development Ecosystem
   Conclusion

Chapter 9. Building the Leadership Development Ecosystem
   Components of the Leadership Development Ecosystem
   Conclusion

Chapter 10. A Leadership Ecosystem in Action
   Key Strategies
   The Leadership Forum
   The Innovation Lab and Accelerator
   ECE Small Business Innovation Center
   Conclusion

Chapter 11. Conclusion: The Leadership of Early Educators

References

Index

About the Author