Familiar and comfortable vs. unfamiliar and demanding – Students' discourses on teachers’ responsibility and leadership in Finnish early childhood education

This study explored discourses on teachers' responsibility and leadership in Finnish early childhood education. Semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 17) involved 41 early childhood education students, including pre-service teachers (n = 20), social pedagogues (n = 9), and childcarers (n ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching and teacher education Vol. 140; p. 104495
Main Authors: Kahila, Sanni, Heikka, Johanna, Sajaniemi, Nina
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2024
Subjects:
Discourse
Early childhood education
Interprofessional collaboration
Teacher leadership
Discourse
Teacher leadership
Early childhood education
Interprofessional collaboration
ISSN:0742-051X, 1879-2480
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This study explored discourses on teachers' responsibility and leadership in Finnish early childhood education. Semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 17) involved 41 early childhood education students, including pre-service teachers (n = 20), social pedagogues (n = 9), and childcarers (n = 12). Two contrasting main discourses were identified: “familiar and comfortable, equally shared responsibility” and “unfamiliar and demanding, differentiated responsibility and leadership”. The findings indicate ambiguity about teachers’ responsibility and leadership, avoidance of the term leadership, concerns about occupational well-being, and uncertainty about leading teamwork. The study provides insights for encouraging teachers' professional development towards increased leadership responsibilities. •Students produced contrasting discourses on teachers' responsibility and leadership.•Discourses reflect the lack of clarity concerning the link between teachers' responsibility and leadership.•The term leadership is avoided when referring to teachers' responsibilities.•Regarding future working life, discourses show students' doubts about leading and improving teamwork.•Worries about professionals' occupational well-being were highlighted in the students' discourses.
ISSN:0742-051X
1879-2480
DOI:10.1016/j.tate.2024.104495