ABSTRACT
What educational settings need is leadership based on shared values and beliefs, rather than rules and personalities.
The government’s vision in England, for a less fragmented, more uniform provision of children’s services, where early years practitioners work closely with professionals from social, health and educational services, calls for a more co-operative approach to management and leadership. Sergiovanni (2007) above highlights the essence of effective leadership. Leadership can be compared to being on a roller coaster, travelling at speed through many hoops, having to participate in many teaching and management activities from the ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’. During the journey a leader assimilates the view from every perspective: child, practitioner, parent and governor. This chapter will attempt to take the reader on a journey, progressing forward from a theoretical perspective of leadership in early years settings through to leadership in practice, examining some of the characteristics associated with effective leadership.
