ABSTRACT

Rh Findings: Effective leadership is one necessary element of achieving high quality in early childhood (EC) and early childhood special education (ECSE) programs. To date, little leadership literature and research are available for EC/ECSE professionals. Using a mixed-methods research approach, this study investigated local leadership practices in one western state in the United States. A hundred forty-three leaders from state or federally funded EC/ECSE programs participated in an online survey (phase I). Four state-level EC/ECSE leaders participated in individual interviews (phase II). The findings of phase I provided valuable insight into local leadership implementation status, implementation challenges, and professional development needs and were well-aligned with the phase II state-level leaders’ perceptions. Prce or Policy: The findings suggest that the local leaders need more targeted support opportunities to improve as a leader than a manager. The need for EC/ECSE leadership licensure, endorsement/certification, specific leadership performance standards, and credentials are discussed.

摘要

Rh 调查结果：有效的领导是在幼儿 (EC) 和幼儿特殊教育 (ECSE) 项目中实现高质量的必要因素之一。迄今为止，可供 EC/ECSE 专业人员使用的领导力文献和研究很少。本研究采用混合方法研究方法，调查了美国西部一个州的地方领导实践。来自州或联邦政府资助的 EC/ECSE 计划的 143 名领导人参加了在线调查（第一阶段）。四位州级 EC/ECSE 领导参加了个人访谈（第二阶段）。第一阶段的调查结果为地方领导执行状况、执行挑战和专业发展需求提供了宝贵的见解，并且与第二阶段州级领导人的看法完全一致。价格或政策：调查结果表明，地方领导者需要更多有针对性的支持机会来提高作为领导者的能力，而不是管理者。讨论了对 EC/ECSE 领导执照、认可/认证、特定领导绩效标准和证书的需求。