Joanne Munyard
University of Gloucestershire
Joanne Munyard is a Lecturer in Early Years and Education at the University of Gloucestershire. Her main interests lie in leadership, management, professional practice and coaching and mentoring.
Neil Gilbride
University of Gloucestershire
Neil Gilbride is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Gloucestershire. His main research interests focus on the applications of psychology to leadership, organisations and coaching/mentoring.
The roundtable will focus on the challenges of developing sustainable values within our ECE institutions and leaders. This will provide a basis to seek critical reflections and insights around a model we are currently developing to promote sustainable leadership in early career ECE practitioners, based upon 'A Rounder Sense of Purpose: Educator Competences in Education for Sustainable Development' (RSP) (Vare, 2017).
First, we will outline how the majority of resources and research in preparing practitioners to lead ECE institutions focuses on managerial process and activity, rather than the unique circumstances and values which should underpin our decision making (Aubrey, Godfrey and Harris, 2013, Busher 2006). We will argue that, due to the purpose and challenges that ECE institutions face, leaders and their organisations should be encouraged to consider ‘moral purpose’ (Fullan, 2005, p.xii), influence and vision in shaping their provision (Grint, 2005); embracing ‘deep values and human purpose’ (Fullan, 2005, p.ix).
Next, we will briefly present the ECE sustainable leadership and management competences and approach to leadership development with ECE professionals. Our approach was adapted from the RSP (Vare, 2017) framework; an assessment tool which seeks to develop sustainable values and practices within education professionals. This model has been adapted to embrace models of sustainable leadership (Fullan 2005) as well as the statutory requirements set out the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE, 2014) and Common Inspection Framework (OfSTED, 2015).
ECE professionals were encouraged to reflect upon functional aspects of ECE management, using the sustainable values as a lens by which to develop a set of guiding principles; an acceptance that, whilst functions and process management is appropriate, these activities should be underpinned by the desire to provide the 'best possible start in life' (DfE, 2014, p.5), while contributing to the sustainability of ECE. It is our belief that the use of this approach and model will enable an improved sense of professional identity, resulting in sustainable ECE settings which are diverse, unique and resilient.
In the round table discussion we will first invite dialogue around the need for such a model and approach to ECE leadership and management, as well as an exploration of the possible tensions involved. This discussion would provide the basis for critical feedback regarding the model and approach developed contributing to a wider conversation around leadership in ECE.
