COLLEGIAL LEADERSHIP AS A STRATEGY FOR TRENGTHENING THE QUALITY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Raysha Amallia

Abstract


The quality of early childhood education (ECE) plays a strategic role in shaping children’s foundational character, competence, and spirituality. Enhancing such quality is closely linked to the leadership capacity of educational institutions, particularly that of school principals. Collegial leadership has emerged as a relevant approach as it promotes active participation, collaboration, and shared decision-making between school leaders and teachers. This study aims to describe and analyses collegial leadership practices as a strategy for strengthening the quality of ECE. Employing a qualitative approach with a single-case study design, the research involved the principal of UPTD TK Negeri Pembina Jorong as the sole subject. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, limited participatory observation, and document analysis, and were examined using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model. The findings reveal that the principal conceptualizes collegial leadership as a practice grounded in deliberation, equality, and collective reflection. The implementation of this model has resulted in increased teacher motivation, the emergence of instructional innovation, and the development of a supportive working culture. Key supporting factors include open communication and a culture of dialogue, while the main challenges involve administrative burdens and time constraints. This study concludes that collegial leadership is effective in enhancing the quality of ECE services and recommends the integration of collaborative leadership training into professional development systems to ensure its systemic application

Keywords


Collegial leadership, Early childhood education quality, Early childhood education

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.20527/e-chief.v5i2.15956

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