The Paradox of Power in Leadership in Early Childhood Education
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11260361 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dora Ho (0000-0003-4684-5335, Education University of Hong Kong, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 87 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 253-266 |
| Publication date | 2012-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Peabody Journal of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0161-956X • E-ISSN: 1532-7930 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0161956x.2012.664479 |
| OpenAlex | W2139912814 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 25 |
Western frameworks for school improvement, including the stakeholder model and the model of decentralized leadership, have recently been promoted as solutions for school improvement. Using early childhood education in Hong Kong as an illustrative case, this article focuses on the power and authority of leadership in school decision making. The interview data collected from the two case study schools reveal a paradox of power in leadership that is characterized by tensions between centralization and decentralization in the change process, where decentralization is advocated by policymakers but traditional hierarchical cultures remain. The relationship between the leaders and school stakeholders incorporates a concept of harmony that functions to defuse the potential power struggle embedded in decision making
Decentralization · Educational leadership · Ethnography · Harmony (color · Instructional leadership · Participative decision-making · Pedagogy · Political science · Power (physics · Power structure · Public relations · Sociology · Stakeholder · Early Childhood Education and Development · Educational and Psychological Assessments · Public Administration · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
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Noblesse oblige? Job position and early childhood leadership in China
Familiar and comfortable vs. unfamiliar and demanding – Students' discourses on teachers’ responsibility and leadership in Finnish early childhood education
Professional learning communities count
School Leadership and Change in East Asia
Being happy means doing it together
Towards a theory of leadership practice
The art of case study research
Understanding the complexity of preschool teaching in Hong Kong
Decentralized centralism
Integrating Accountability With Choice
Research methods in early childhood
Societal Culture and School Leadership Charting the Way Ahead
Power and Resistance
Thematic networks
Power and Participation in Decision-Making in Formal Organizations
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |