Priešmokyklinio ugdymo mokytojo lyderystės raiška

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjama priešmokyklinio ugdymo mokytojo lyderystės raiškos problema. Pristatomi interviu su įstaigų, teikiančių priešmokyklinį ugdymą, vadovais rezultatai. Tyrimas atliktas, taikant fenomenologinę strategiją, siekiant suprasti, kaip lyderystė reiškiasi priešmokyklinio ugdymo mokytojų veikloje, kokie esminiai jos požymiai. Tyrime dalyvavo penki Klaipėdos miesto priešmokyklinį ugdymą teikiančių įstaigų vadovai, nacionalinio švietimo projekto „Lyderių laikas“ dalyviai, kurie pateikė savo, kaip vadovų, įžvalgas dėl mokytojų lyderystės raiškos. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad mokytojo lyderystės reiškinys patiria švietimo sistemoje apskritai ir priešmokyklinio ugdymo grandyje vykstančią kaitą, išryškėjo ir jo kokybės požymiai. Mokytojų, kaip lyderių, savybės reiškiasi vertinant jų atvirumą naujovėms, veiklos refleksiją, gebėjimą ugdymo įstaigoje kurti palankią aplinką, nuolatinio mokymosi, mokymosi iš kitų siekį. Mokytojų lyderystė reiškiasi kaip priešmokyklinio ugdymo proceso veiksmingas organizavimas, veikla visos ugdymo įstaigos bendruomenės labui, bendradarbiavimas su tėvais, kolegomis ugdymo įstaigoje ir už jos ribų, projektinė veikla, vaikų įtraukimas į patirtinį mokymąsi. PAGRINIAI ŽODŽIAI: priešmokyklinio ugdymo mokytojas, lyderystė, raiška. [Iš leidinio]

ENIn terms of roles and responsibilities, education has become more complex than ever before, making the role of teacher as a leader particularly important. The leadership context of an educator working with preschool children has also been changing. A pre-school teacher who initiates changes in this sector of education creates the preconditions for developing and building a high-quality learning environment. Leadership requires that pre-school teachers rethink educational goals, content, and ways and methods of work, as well as focusing their activities on adult-child educational interaction, which is important for the child’s preparation for primary school. Research in pre-school teachers’ leadership both deepens the knowledge of problem-solving strategies and provides the basis for professional policy makers to substantiate the need for resources in order to provide support to the activity of leaders. The research object is the expression of pre-school teachers’ leadership. The aim of the research is to reveal the essential attributes of the expression of pre-school teachers’ leadership. The research methods include the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature and documents; interviews; and a phenomenological analysis and description of the qualitative research data. The research has drawn on phenomenology, one of the strategies of qualitative research, which becomes meaningful when a researcher expects to understand a phenomenon in order to develop the best practice (Creswell, 2012). In our research, the philosophical premises were based on the study of lived experience, and the view that such experiences were conscious, while the descriptions of those experiences were created not solely in interpretations or analyses (Moustakas, 1994). For the collection of the research data, the interview (semi-structured) method was chosen.Targeted sampling was carried out for the research. Interviews were conducted with the heads of five educational institutions in the city of Klaipėda. The research sample units were selected from the population in accordance with established criteria: all the heads of the educational institutions providing pre-school education either participated or participate in the national education project ‘Time for Leaders’, they had at least 20 years’ work experience, and they had the relevant qualification category. The analysis of the interviews with the heads of educational institutions providing pre-school education revealed several essential features of the expression of pre-school teachers’ leadership. The importance of leadership for pre-school teachers is revealed through the aspiration for the quality of education, the organisation of education, cooperation, and the implementation of new initiatives. In the phenomenon of teacher leadership, indications of the change and quality in education in general, and in the pre-school educational sector, emerge. The qualities of a pre-school teacher as a leader are manifested through assuming responsibility for the education of children, demonstrating courage and confidence, curiosity, dutifulness, and a community spirit. The professional qualities of teachers as leaders are expressed through their openness to innovation, reflection on pedagogical activities, the building of a favourable environment in the educational institution, lifelong learning, and learning from others. The leadership competence is revealed through the knowledge of making one’s activity more effective, acquired by means of self-development, keeping up with the latest research, and in-depth studies of the developmental characteristics of pre-school children and their achievements.Teachers’ leadership competencies include the abilities of creativity and innovation, building a culture of cooperation, teamwork, the formation of students’ values, and education quality assurance, as well as teachers’ skills of self-evaluation, the adoption of best practices, and working in the community of an education institution. Teachers’ leadership is expressed through the more effective organisation of the pre-school education process, through activities for the benefit of the whole community of the educational institution, cooperation with parents and colleagues both inside the educational institution and beyond it, as well as through project activities. Indications of leadership are seen in involving children in experiential learning, enabling their ideas/initiatives to be expressed, and in seeking better self-education outcomes. Teachers can be encouraged in the more active expression of leadership by their own need to be a leader, the leadership competence of the head of the educational institution and their support for the teacher, combining the attitudes of teachers and heads of educational institutions towards leadership, mutual trust and support, and freedom to be creative. Lifelong learning, professional development and best practice sharing opportunities stand out as preconditions for leadership by pre-school teachers. KEY WORDS: pre-school teacher, leadership, expression. [From the publication]

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