Early childhood education leadership in times of crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected all aspects of professional and private life worldwide, including the field of early childhood education and care (ECE). This volume sheds light on leadership in ECE: How did leaders experience the challenges they were facing and what coping strategies did they apply in order to deal with the changes in everyday life and practices in ECE centres? Authors from twelve countries present empirical findings gaining information on different crisis management mechanisms in ECE systems around the world.

Year 2020 started the era of the COVID-19 pandemic that influenced the whole world dramatically including the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). This book sheds light on the ECEC leaders’ experiences and discusses the phenomenon of ECEC leadership in various national contexts during the times of uncertainty. The book draws conclusions based on the empirical findings and provides future perspectives on the role of leadership in encountering the crises. The authors provide insights on the ways the pandemic changed everyday life and practices in ECEC centers and discuss the main challenges and coping strategies of the leaders. Through the original research reported throughout the book we learn what consequences the pandemic had on team relations of the staff and their internal and external communication structures. The book offers evidence-based information that benefits decision makers, scholars and practitioners in becoming more knowledgeable about different crisis management mechanisms in a variety of ECEC systems around the world. Further, the book is of interest to pre- and in-service training programs of ECEC leaders and teachers in universities and other educational institutions.