What makes the ideal leader in an educational setting? In this essay I will be discussing and analysing the main characteristics of what defines an ideal leader. I am also going to include current thinking and practice in the Early Years sector, drawing upon my own experiences involving parents, teachers and children. Furthermore I will be investigating the quality of practice for the provision of education and assess the impact of my role as a leader. It is extremely important to have expert quality leadership in an educational setting, as there is a ‘high correlation between effective leadership and outcomes for children.’ (Audbury, 2011.P.54) The majority of studies on schools effectiveness have shown both ‘primary and secondary leadership …show more content…
High quality is often described as teacher behaviours producing a positive impact on children's learning and development. There is a strong link between the connection between leadership quality and the quality of early years provision. However often in the early years sector we find that practitioners feel that they are ‘unprepared to undertake leadership roles and responsibilities.’(Rodd.2013, p.75) This may be the case because leadership remains to be perceived as additional obligations in relation to demanding curriculum, lack of specialised training, professional growth and routes into adopting leadership as early practitioners. In order to grasp a whole picture of the important role played by leadership in quality provision, there is a number of things that need to be taken into consideration and valued. Firstly the training that is currently given to early years teachers does not ‘provide and prepare each individual to appreciate and take on the role of leadership.’ (Kouzes and Posner.P.33) While the majority of courses touch upon the idea of leadership, this is not sufficient to prepare adults who can mange multi agency services, oversee diverse facilities, and provide the role of leadership to a team. Stepping into the role of a leader requires mature understanding of families, communities and children. Effective leadership ‘demands sophisticated …show more content…
What has emerged is that there is not a single trait that can define leadership but instead it is a combination of skills done well. One of the main themes that has underlined throughout my paper is the need for quality. Audbury (2011) suggests that a key core value in developing quality of service for practitioners is engaging in professional development. In the Early Years environment there is a burning need to have a better relationship between improved models of leadership and positive outcomes for children. However it is questionable whether one single leadership characteristic can be appropriate in such a diverse and ever changing sector, flexible leadership is