Promoting Reflective Leadership within Early Head Start

A Qualitative Study of a Professional Development Training for Administrators

Abstract

Professional development training within early childhood education and care settings have focused mainly on teacher well-being and classroom quality. However, early childhood classrooms are embedded within multifaceted program contexts which contain complex sets of relationships and systems. Administrators and other professionals who support teachers in the classroom are essential to the organization and climate of the center, the classroom, and the experiences of teachers, children, and families. The current qualitative study investigates the experiences of five Early Head Start administrators who participated in a 15 hour attachment- and relationship-based professional development training. Themes that emerged from analyses underscore the importance of the administrator’s role in supporting teachers to integrate professional development content within their classrooms and highlight the powerful nature of participating in a training that is specifically designed and aimed at the complex role of the administrator. This study informs the field on the importance of providing professional development and support to early childhood education administrators and attending to all the complex and important relationships reflected within the early childhood setting.