Māori Leadership in ECE & Professional Development Plan

Part 1: Leadership Statement

Examine Māori perspectives on leadership in ECE and discuss their application to your practice in early childhood settings

This is your opportunity to engage with Māori perspectives on leadership and consider characteristics, traits, practices and values that align with your own aspirations for leadership, as a teacher leader. Drawing connections between your own leadership and Māori perspectives will support you to engage in the spirit of partnership as either Tangata Whenua or Tauiwi, exploring different perspectives of knowing, being and doing.

Presentation tip: First person language should be used when you discuss your aspirations, values, and practice. Introduction and Conclusion are not needed in this part. To examine requires you to critically reflect on how these characteristics, traits, practices and values will be implemented in practice, including reference to a wide range of relevant literature and ECE texts.

Part 2: Professional Development Plan

You are the positional leader of Young Learners Early Learning Centre in Aotearoa a small, early childhood centre with a wide socio demographic base and a range of cultural backgrounds.  A recent staff survey revealed that kaiako wanted to engage more with the centre leadership to develop their capacity as teacher leaders.

Supported by the headings below, say how you will support the team to deliver high quality leadership practices, reflecting the integration of cultural competencies and leadership capabilities

• Mentoring and coaching
• Developing relational trust
• Creating vision and designing supportive structures.

As a positional leader (eg. Room Leader), you have the responsibility to prepare a Professional Development plan that you could lead that focuses on developing kaiako capacity as teacher leaders in the centre, which will nurture a workplace environment where leadership is shared/distributed. Informed by the transformative practices bullet pointed above, explain how you will lead the team to deliver high quality leadership practices, taking into consideration the diverse sociocultural backgrounds and competencies of the team (For example, does the plan foster professional, respectful and collaborative relationships? Does it reflect the diversity of the heritage, language, values, and identity of the team?). Demonstrate your knowledge of what these transformative practices mean and explain how you will use them to grow leadership capacity while having their wellbeing supported. Discuss what outcomes there might be for the kaiako.

Experts Answer on Above Questions on Leadership Management

Maori perspective on leadership in ECE and its application

In respect to early childhood education, Maori leadership is based on the principles of collective responsibility, respect, relationships and cultural identity rather than on individual authority. It clearly indicates the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Whariki whereby leadership is shared among Kaiako, whanau and wider community. The important Maori leadership principles that I would focus to integrate in my teaching styles are:

1) Manaakitanga – it implies showing kindness, care and respect to others, and I would integrate it by creating a safe and inclusive learning environment for children, and support well being my respecting interactions with staff and family.
2) Whanaungatanga – this principle focuses on building relationships on the basis of trust, collaboration and belonging, and I would practice this by encouraging teamwork, promoting open communication and creating a positive centre culture where everyone works together for children’s success.
3) Ako – This principle implies teaching and learning, and I would encourage it through reflective discussions, learning and knowledge sharing among children.
4) Rangatiratanga – leadership values are practiced through empowerment and shared decision making, and I would apply them by involving the teaching team in my planning, problem solving and curriculum development.
5) Kaitiakitanga – the principle encourages responsibility for people, culture and the environment, and I will promote this by teaching about sustainability, caring for natural resources and respecting Maori culture.

Professional development plan

Mentoring and coaching – the mentoring approach that I will follow is to involve experienced Kaiako to mentor less experienced teachers. In addition to this, I will also support peer observation and allow kaiako to observe each other’s teaching and provide feedback. This will increase the leadership confidence, improve teaching practices, and facilitate strong communication and collaboration among the staff.
Developing relational trust – I would try to develop relational trust by encouraging open communication within team members and allowing each and every kaiako to share their ideas and concerns. The focus would be on providing a platform that would make staff feel respected in respective of their cultural background, and it will help in strengthening trust within the team. The expected outcome would be stronger teamwork, increased staff engagement and better partnerships with whanau.
Creating vision and designing support structures – My focus has been on working collaboratively with the team in order to develop a shared leadership vision that reflects Te Whariki and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I would encourage distributed leadership by giving each kaiako opportunities to lead projects and facilitate meetings. The professional development plan would take into consideration the integration of Maori values, celebrating Maori cultural events and strengthening partnerships with whanau.

Want Detailed Answers with References?

The professional development plan above focuses on mentoring and coaching, developing relational trust and creating supported leadership structures in order to empower all kaiako. The analysis also revealed the ways in which Maori values would be integrated in creating culturally responsive leadership culture. If you need assistance with creating a similar professional development plan, hire a professional New Zealand assignment helper to assist you with thorough analysis.