ABSTRACT
This chapter considers leadership within Early Childhood Education and Care settings (ECEC) as emancipatory practice. It reflects on how we train and develop future leaders, leaders who have a commitment to transforming the life chances of children and their families through harnessing the energy for change and social solidarity in communities. The degree of success of the political action that has been generated within the community is, as Warden states, 'one criterion for successful community education'. The ECEC team's responsibility was to build on the important relationships that children already had with their parents and extended family. 'Activism' in early childhood education and care services like those at Pen Green can be described as a commitment on the part of ECEC leaders and staff to transform the life chances of children and their families, harnessing the energy for change within their local communities.
