Leaders with Heart
Educational Leadership
Presented by Stephen
Gallen
Leadership....
– Leadership is a process of guiding, directing
and motivating the movements and actions of
others to accomplish a certain set of goals or
tasks.
–
Stepping Up to the Challenge - Workforce
Council Manual 2010
Definition of Leadership
cont.
– Good leadership enthuses staff to want to
follow your lead to achieve the highest
standards, rather than acting only to obey
directives. Staff adopt the enthusiasm and
vision of the leader.
– The leader plays a pivotal role in how staff feel
about themselves and their job, and their levels
of motivation and commitment.
Educational
Leadership...
What is education?
What is care?
What is learning?
What is childcare for?
And what are we for in childcare?
Issues & Challenges : the marginalization of pedagogy
•“We can be sure that if we take away the child’s ability, possibility
and joy in projecting and exploring, then the child ‘dies’. The
child dies if we take away….the joy of questioning, examining
and exploring. He dies if he does not sense that the adult is
close enough to see how much strength, how much energy, how
much intelligence, capacity and creativity he possesses. The
child wants to be seen, observed and applauded.”
–Loris Malaguzzi
The NQF is
‘outcomes
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based
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A shift away from prescribing inputs
This means there is no ‘one right way’
to achieve these outcomes
Which means that we (and all
educators) have to make judgements
and take responsibility for these
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the NQF
requires educators who make complex
decisions
between often competing goals and
priorities
whose decision making draws on a range
of sources (including their intuition!)
who are critically reflective of their practice
and who are not only aware of the decision
making processes behind their practice
but can also articulate and advocate for
them!
Educational Leadership
The marginalisation of pedagogy
Hierarchical and ‘top-down’
models of educational systems
The relationship of theory to
practice
Challenges
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Time
Trust
The relationship between theory and
practice
Our own knowledge and experience
Resources
Educational leadership
• Prioritising...what can you
give up? Dahlberg
•“We can be sure that if we take away the child’s ability, possibility
and joy in projecting and exploring, then the child ‘dies’. The
child dies if we take away….the joy of questioning, examining
and exploring. He dies if he does not sense that the adult is
close enough to see how much strength, how much energy, how
much intelligence, capacity and creativity he possesses. The
child wants to be seen, observed and applauded.”
–Loris Malaguzzi
“And when the child dies, the [educator]
dies too, because the educator’s goal is the
same as that of the children: to find
meaning in her work and existence, to see
value and significance in what she does, to
escape from being indistinct and
anonymous, to be able to see gratifying
results from her work and her intelligence.
The educator cannot work without a
sense of meaning, without being a
protagonist.”
Peter Moss and Pat Petrie From Children’s Services to Children’s Spaces
The Reggio Approach
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Practice and theory are reciprocal
partners - they inform each other
Centres are productive spaces
Educators and teachers create theory
as well as use theory
Makes pedagogy central
“More recent approaches to
assessment....become
powerful ways to make the
process of learning visible to
children...their families,
educators and other
professionals." EYLF p17
Pedagogical
documentation:
• Can inspire and sustain
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a mentoring and professional
development tool
connects practice to theory in a
reciprocal way
makes pedagogy visible and
shareable
supports meaning making (what is
going? how did it happen?) rather than
checking predetermined criteria.
The Reggio Influence
• The 1970s – Atelierista’s such as Vea
Vecchi begin using visual arts language as
a way of documenting pedagogy
• The 1980s – the Reggio Emilia centres are
‘discovered’ and advocated by US
educators
• The 1990s – the idea of pedagogical
documentation using images and stories is
taken up around the world
Reggio Documentation- theoretical
background
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Visual arts
The hundred languages
Subjectivity
Professional development tool
– Rinaldi.
“Visualisation”
- Dahlberg, Deleuze
Traditional Child Observation
(drawn from developmental psychology)
•Strives to be objective
•Assess individual’s level of development in line with developmental outcomes
•A tool to plan objectives from
–That is, once you have accurately identified a child’s developmental needs or interests,
you can plan appropriate experiences or activities to meet that interest, or need.
–In a way, the educator becomes a kind of doctor or physician, diagnosing the child and
prescribing a ‘cure’.
Dalhberg et al (1999)
Based on assumptions
• That all children follow the same pathways
but at individual rates
• That learning and development follow a
sequential pathway
• That development leads learning
– Fleer
New ways of observing….
• Looks for meaning and stories
• Looks at relationships, encounters,
connections
• A tool to make demonstrate learning and
make it visible
– Rinaldi
Based on values
• That diversity matters (and that children
follow diverse pathways)
• That learning and development are
complex, holistic and not straightforward
• That individuality and relationships go
together
• That life is about meaning – and that
learning and development lead each other..
Documentation is “…particularly valuable to the children
themselves, as they can encounter what they have done in the
form of a narration, seeing meaning that the teacher has drawn
from their work. In the eyes of the children this can demonstrate
that what they do has value, has meaning. So they discover that
they “exist” and can emerge from anonymity and invisibility,
seeing that what they say and do is important, is listened to, and
is appreciated: it has a value.”
Making Learning Visible p 87
The girls look down at the figures. “They’re the 3 sisters,” says Bridget softly. Sisters love and hate, squabble and
make up, but they share a sense of belonging each to the other. It’s a beautiful way to understand the relationship
between the three girls as it enters a deeper place.
Responsive to children..
High expectations…
“…as if…”
• What child do you see?
• The child you see, depends on how you look.
• Do we look at the child ‘as if’ they are ‘empty’ and
lacking?
• Do we look at the child ‘as if’ they are capable,
intentional and full of potential?
• Do we look at the event “as if” it is full of
meaning?
You draw on…
•professional knowledge and skills
•knowledge of children, families and communities
•awareness of how your beliefs and values impact on children’s learning
•personal styles and past experiences
•Your creativity, intuition and imagination
EYLF p11
Educators "who know how to observe,
document and interpret the processes that
the children undergo…will realise in this
context their greatest potential to learn
how to teach."
Rinaldi, Making Learning Visible p 68.
Mini stories and micro
moments
What are mini stories?
They are ways of catching, in photographs (and
words) a story that gives the essence of the context
and strategies the children are use and, more
importantly, a deeper sense of what is taking place.
Through visual images we try to pause on children’s
expressions and actions with one another and in the
work they are doing seeking to convey as much as
we can of the learning and atmosphere, the sense
of life flowing within the group.
Vea Vecchi
Tips
1. Use images - photos are a wonderful way of unlocking the meaning of moments
2. Take a sequence of photos of a small moment or event. Don’t just take one
- you want as many as possible
3. Write a sentence per photo, describing what is happening (almost like a comic
strip, or a movie)
4. Link to make a story
5. Just start - the story will unfold in the telling or writing
6. Don’t be afraid of being descriptive and interpretive - talk about the MEANING.
This is a STORY, not an observation!
7. Now reflect to see if you have made any meaning - what could be the central idea,
image or metaphor here? Take your time..
8. Use the language of the learning outcomes if you like to help you if you are stuck,
but try and write the story first - you’ll surprise yourself!
Extra tip: try writing in the present tense as if its happening right now
in front of you you’ll be amazed at the difference this makes to the feel.
…writing in the present tense as if its happening right now
in front of you…
As Molly plays with the ball, Silas notices and tries to join in by crawling
after the ball – his way of saying “Hey Molly, I want to play!”.
Molly is such a sensitive communicator and
listener. She understands completely –
they are communicating without words. She
throws the ball to him, but Silas isn't quite
up to catching it.
Ricki lee responds and decides to play with Molly. It
doesn't take her long to realise that Molly and Silas want
to play together..
She sits Silas up and helps him with the ball. Now, with her support they can play..
And what a sense of 'agency' or power for Silas who knows he can communicate
his wishes to someone as big as Ricki.
Success! And fun, enjoyment, and sharing. Connecting with each other. This is a two way
‘conversation’ between two very young people. A sense of emotional well being comes
from sharing moments with friends, and physical well being comes as we exercise and
develop our skills. Even knowing the 'rules' of this game, such as turn taking requires
understanding and thinking, and memory. Even a simple game like this is a form of
“culture”. A beautiful moment.
Possible models
• Visit each room once a week/fortnight/month
1
• Visit need be no longer than 15 minutes
• Take a sequence of photos (as many as
possible) of an experience (whether activity,
encounter between children, play, routine etc
etc). The sequence should involve a small
group of children (ideally 2 - 5) but can be
individual
• Review photos, and collect together (eg. on
iPad, laptop or print outs) to share with
educator/s and staff team.
Possible models
2
• Prior to visits, decide with each educator what
• Visit each group regularly - once a
week/fortnight/month
you will be focussing on - this might be a
question or concern that educators have
around : 1. their program 2. their environment
or routines. 3. particular children's interests or
participation in the program (including
behaviour) 4. a reflective aspect such as
gender (boys/girls), culture, diversity etc etc
• Spend no more than 15 minutes in the group,
taking as many photographs as possible of the
chosen aspect
Possible model
3
• Instead of yourself as the educational leader
producing documentation (eg photos), ask
educators to supply or share some
documentation that they have produced (eg.
photos, learning story, observation, "what we
did today snapshot", portfolio entry).
• Give feedback or reflect with others
together, and to give feedback
• 1. Documentation can be put together as a
learning story (with written feedback, reflective
questions etc) and given to educator to read
and comment on.
For all models:
• 2. As above, but documentation can be placed
in shared 'reflective journal' in staff room for all
educators to add comments and reflection - to
create shared professional dialogue
• 3. Together with educator/s, view images,
discuss and engage in reflection and
professional conversation. Collaboratively
develop this into a piece of documentation (eg
learning story) that the educator can keep as
Next session
• Bring along 1 example of documentation you
or you and educators have coconstructed
together and give feedback on how the
process went
• Bring along 1 sequence of photos that you
have, that you have not yet shared with other
educator/s.
References
• Dahlberg, G et al. (1999) Beyond Quality in
Early Childhood Education and Care London :
Routledge
• Gallen, S. (2011) Reflective Practice and
Documentation : In the Loop Spring 2011
• Reggio Children (2001) Making Learning
Visible Reggio Emilia : Reggio Children
• Rinaldi, C. (2007) In Dialogue with Reggio
Emilia London: Routledge