Developing leadership for early childhood professionals through oral inquiry: strengthening equity through making particulars visible in dilemmas of practice

Abstract

Developing leadership among early childhood professionals has become increasingly important as investing in children's early years has been championed as a public and private national and international priority. Two case studies present how oral inquiry and specifically, the Prospect Center's Descriptive Review of a Professional Dilemma of Practice, was used to support early childhood professionals to develop their leadership by strengthening the skills and dispositions they need to critically reflect upon, explore and negotiate the complex dilemmas they face in the context of their daily practice. Research on the use of inquiry to address uncertainty, the development of reflective practices, relational logics of effectiveness and social justice leadership inform discussion of the findings. Implications suggest the promise of using oral inquiry to support leadership development for early childhood professionals.

Keywords:

• early childhood
• leadership
• oral inquiry
• social justice
• equity
• professional dilemmas

Notes on contributors

Julie Marie Nicholson, PhD is an associate professor of Practice in the School of Education at Mills College. Dr Nicholson works on several local and state level policy committees addressing a wide range of issues related to young children's learning and development and she is currently working on an advocacy campaign promoting the importance of early learning environments for all children. Dr Nicholson's research examines leadership development for early childhood professionals, play across the lifespan, the use of social networking tools in higher education coursework, teachers' use of data to inform instructional decision-making, and most recently, early childhood system building efforts (prenatal-8 years) within a large urban school district.

Linda Kroll, PhD, is professor and associate dean in the School of Education at Mills College. Dr Kroll recently published Self-study and inquiry into practice (2013) and co-authored Teaching as principled practice: Managing complexity for social justice (2004). Dr Kroll's professional interests include cognitive development, development of literacy, application of developmental theory to educational issues, teacher education and teacher development throughout their careers. Her research examines teacher inquiry and Reggio inspired documentation as research methodology for early childhood professionals studying their practice.

Notes

1. All names in this article are pseudonyms.