Shadowing Centre Directors as Pedagogical Leaders in Early Childhood Education Settings in Finland

This chapter investigates the implementation of pedagogical leadership by Finnish early childhood education (ECE) centre directors. The study focuses on the key pedagogical leadership responsibilities of three centre directors and how leadership structures and approaches influence the implementation of pedagogical leadership in ECE settings. Qualitative shadowing was employed to investigate the directors’ leadership practices on pedagogical leadership in selected settings. The findings reflected three main areas of responsibility for pedagogical leadership: leading pedagogical activities and curriculum work within the centre, leading professional development of educators, and leading pedagogical assessment and development. Furthermore, it was revealed that leadership structures in the municipality and leadership approaches of the centre directors significantly influenced the implementation of pedagogical leadership. This study’s findings can inform and promote the implementation of pedagogical leadership and can enhance the preparation and training of ECE leaders who can guide the quality provisioning of ECE programmes that impact children’s learning outcomes.