Leadership in Norwegian municipal early childhood education care centres

Abstract

This chapter is based on a qualitative interview survey among directors of Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres. The research question is as follows: What expectations, possibilities, and challenges do ECEC directors perceive in their cooperation with their immediate superiors, and how does this cooperation affect the autonomy and freedom of action of directors' leadership role? The main findings of the survey are that directors have regular contact with their immediate superiors in the municipal leadership and management hierarchy, as well as when a need arises. The contact takes place in the form of meetings with other directors and individual contact by phone and email. At these meetings, information is provided, matters of a legal and administrative nature are discussed, and there are discussions about the implementation of pedagogical guidelines from the municipality. The individual cooperation between the director and their immediate superior largely focuses on individual cases relating to children and parents, personnel matters, or pedagogical issues. The directors find this cooperation important and regard their immediate superior as a source of support. Five out of six interviewees have a superior who is a trained kindergarten teacher. They want their superior to provide pedagogical advice and be a discussion partner in pedagogical matters. They are mostly satisfied with the cooperation, but find that their superiors have little time to set aside for pedagogical follow-up work. Although the superior has overriding pedagogical responsibility for the ECEC centres, the directors themselves perceive that they have pedagogical authority and freedom of action and autonomy, and that their superior trusts them.