The development of Early Childhood Education in Sweden is a central concern for national and local government, and for school districts and preschools. While principals have the responsibility for, and a particular role in, leading education in the preschools, they are somewhat removed from the core work of teachers. In this article, we argue that it is ‘middle leaders’ who are the critical professionals for developing quality in education. The argument is made through examining the leading practices of middle leaders using a practice theory framework. We specifically draw on the theory of practice architectures to explore and understand the arrangements and conditions that enable and constrain the practices of these leaders in their work. The study draws on survey data and recorded professional Learning Dialogues among participants. Responses revealed a number of enabling and constraining conditions relating to particular cultural–discursive, material–economic and social–political conditions that influenced what was possible in their leading practices. Results further show how the practices of middle leaders were crucial in not only developing but sustaining quality in Early Childhood Education as they coordinate between the educational practices within the preschool and across the city district.

中文翻译：

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幼儿教育中的中层领导者的实践架构

瑞典的幼儿教育的发展是国家和地方政府以及学区和学前班的中心问题。虽然校长对学前班的领导教育负有责任，并在其中起着特殊作用，但在某种程度上，他们已经脱离了教师的核心工作。在本文中，我们认为，“中间领导人”是提高教育质量的关键专业人员。该论点是通过使用实践理论框架考察中层领导者的领导实践而得出的。我们特别借鉴实践体系结构的理论来探索和理解安排和条件，这些条件和条件可以使这些领导人的工作实践受到约束。该研究利用调查数据并记录了参与者之间的专业学习对话。答复显示，与特定文化，讨论，物质，经济和社会政治条件有关的许多有利条件和制约条件影响了其领导实践的可能。结果进一步表明，中级领导者的实践不仅在幼儿教育的发展中而且对于维持幼儿教育的质量至关重要，因为他们在学前班和市区范围内的教育实践之间进行协调。