Successful principal leadership and its impact on professional learning communities in early childhood education in Mainland China : a mixed methods approach /

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Student Theses

2023

Zhang, Lutong

Thesis

Early childhood education (ECE) in China is transiting from guaranteeing educational equity to increasing its quality as more emphasis is placed on the importance of ECE in preparing children for success in adulthood worldwide. During the process of the transition, discussions on the role and impact of kindergarten principals in this endeavour have gained momentum since successful leadership is regarded as being a crucial component of quality ECE (Heikka et al., 2021a; Klevering & McNae, 2018). The significant role of principals in contributing to school improvement and student achievement from various aspects in other schooling sectors has been identified with scholars in different cultural contexts for a comparatively long history. For instance, a bunch of studies identified the positive influence of principal leadership on Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). However, empirical exploration of quality leadership practices and the impact of these leadership practices on PLCs in the ECE sector is rare to find in the literature, particularly in the context of mainland China.Based on the interpretivism nature of this current project, the exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was adopted, starting with a qualitative strand followed by a quantitative strand. Qualitative data were collected by conducting face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 12 principals and 30 teachers distributed in 12 exemplary kindergartens in Yunnan Province, China. Whereas for the quantitative data the project applied the SPL model established in the qualitative strand and the PLCs inventory designed by Chen (in press). The online survey collected 533 valid questionnaires from both kindergarten principals and teachers in Yunnan Province. Interview transcripts and survey data were analysed and synthesised to uncover indigenous successful principal leadership practices and the impact of these leadership practices on PLCs. The results from the research project revealed that successful principal leadership practices in ECE consisted of five dimensions with 20 items. The findings of the project have reinforced previous research on successful principal leadership by highlighting the distinctive enactments of principal leadership practices in ECE in mainland China. Meanwhile, the positive influence of successful principal leadership on PLCs was affirmed by the current research by demonstrating the dimensional correlations between leadership practices and PLC factors. The significant correlation paths add evidence on how principal leadership could impact teacher collaborative learning in kindergartens with a more nuanced presentation. Along with these research findings, a new inventory on successful leadership practices (SPLI) was established and validated by the current project, which set up the foundation for further research. The findings of the project could be used to guide principal preparation, training, professional development, and evaluation. In addition, this study could benefit ECE practitioners about principal leadership practices that positively impact on the factors of professional learning communities (PLCs) in kindergartens in mainland China

LG51.H43 Dr 2023eb Zhangl

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/9KeRS2mc