The role and work practices of the Educational Leader in long day care centres

There is evidence in the research literature that outlines the role of the Educational Leader (EL) is an important but developing role in the delivery of high-quality early childhood education and care. The National Quality Standard (NQS) stipulates a national criterion against which the quality of early childhood education and care services in Australia is benchmarked. This research used a two-phased mixed method approach to explore the role and work practices of the EL in long day early childhood care centres. In Phase 1 of the research an on-line survey investigated the role of the EL and the work practices used. In Phase 2, interviews with ELs explored further in-depth insights into the role of, and work practices used by ELs. The results from this research have identified four main EL responsibilities, namely to facilitate: •professional practice; •administrative practice; •compliance with the requirements of the NQS (Quality Area 7); and •mentoring of centre educators. Within the four responsibilities, it was found that the EL uses a range of specific work practices. There are evident commonalities in the work practices used, but the extent of their use and the way in which the work practices are used varies from EL to EL. The findings from this research can be used to strengthen the quality of conversations between ELs, other educators, centre Directors and management about professional practice in the early childhood setting