Formative interventions in leadership development in early childhood education : The potential of double stimulation

• Published in: Journal of early childhood research : ECR Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 80 - 91
• Main Authors: Nuttall, Joce, Thomas, Louise, Henderson, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-03-2018
• Subjects: Child development; Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT); Cultural Influences; Early Childhood Education; Foreign Countries; Formative Evaluation; Intervention; Interviews; Leadership responsibility; Leadership Training; Professionalism; Social Psychology; Social Theories; Staff Development; Sustainability; Workshops; Young children; Australia; double stimulation; leadership development; early childhood education; cultural-historical activity theory
• ISSN: 1476-718X; 1741-2927
• DOI: 10.1177/1476718X16664555

This article critiques the usefulness of double stimulation, a key concept in Vygotskian analyses of human development, with leaders in early childhood services in Australia. A series of formative interventions was conducted to identify and address systemic tensions that were confounding leaders' attempts to realise a central object of activity in their work: the development of their staff in order to enhance children's learning. An example of double stimulation is drawn from workshop comments and interviews with one of the participating leaders. The article elaborates on a tension identified between explicit cultural expectations of professionalism and an implicit division of labour that position leaders as having the primary responsibility for solving problems of practice. The article concludes by reflecting on the usefulness of double stimulation in fostering sustainable leadership practices in early childhood education. [Author abstract]