Learning To Lead: Effective Leadership Skills for Teachers of Young Children.

Whether a center director or teacher aide, child care professionals share in the leadership process every day. This guide draws on the author's more than 23 years of experiences to help early childhood teachers at all levels make the most of their roles as leaders in the lives of children, families, and fellow educators. The guide combines accessible leadership theory and practice with important topics and issues such as human development, diversity, anti-bias, work with families, and social change. Each chapter is built around a combination of theories, examples, and reflection questionsall designed to prompt self-evaluation and personal leadership development. Chapter 1, "Leadership in Early Childhood Education," introduces some basic concepts around the definitions, roles, and challenges of leaders and leadership. This chapter also discusses various leadership functions and styles and how they look in the leadership process. Chapter 2, "Who, Me, a Leader?," provides teachers an opportunity to reflect on how they began developing leadership skills in the family environment and through the life experiences of parenting and teaching children. Also explored are the influences of individual experiences such as birth order, culture, and learning styles. Chapter 3, "Being an Effective Leader," examines the skills and qualities that make leaders effective, as well as the source of values and vision in leadership, and the role played as teachers make leadership decisions. Chapter 4, "It Takes a Village," looks at leadership at every level of the early childhood education field and how teachers can increase their collaboration and team-building skills through their work with families and communities. Chapter 5, "Empowerment, Followership, and Advocacy," looks at the kinds of environments that lead to empowerment and teachers' role in creating them; the strengths, skills, and responsibilities of followers; and the role of advocacy in changing the early childhood education profession. Each chapter concludes with a list of suggested readings. (HTH)