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Transformative Leadership in the Sustainable Development of Early Childhood Education Teachers in South Africa: A Systematic Literature Review
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Abstract
Purpose – This paper sought to provide an overview and arguments of prevailing South Africa’s higher education initiatives, focusing on transformative leadership’s influence on sustainable Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher development emphasizing partnership, empowerment, and shared vision.
Design/methods/approach – This paper is grounded in a systematic review approach based on the selected keywords. 180 articles written in English and published between 2007 and 2024 in DHTE, Scopus, WoS, DOAJ, and Scielo SA databases were targeted as potential sources for this study. Systematic review guidelines were used to reduce them, focusing on topics, abstracts, and issues. The selected 80 articles were analysed independently for reliability and transferability. In addition, content analysis was used to construe the influence of transformational leadership on sustainable ECD teacher development within South Africa.
Findings – The findings reveal that the rationale for adopting transformative leadership in sustainable ECD teacher development in higher education is grounded in the culture of continuous learning and professional growth. This encourages reflection and self-assessment among teachers, helping them to evaluate their practices and adapt to meet students' needs better, which is crucial for sustainable development. In addition, this leadership style addresses social justice issues by advancing inclusive and equitable educational practices. It was acknowledged that this supports ECD teachers in developing their knowledge, skills and values. This enhances teachers’ teaching practices thereby contributing to sustainable ECD educational outcomes.
Research implications/limitations – The review acknowledges the limitation of possible interpretive bias and recommends the need to explore further how transformative leadership can be adopted into the contemporary ECD curriculum.
Practical implications – This provides insights for policymakers, curriculum developers, and teachers with an emphasis on how transformative leadership can influence the quality of the ECD teacher development programme in South Africa.
Originality/value – This review contributes to the field by highlighting a largely overlooked transformative leadership style and suggesting how its influence can inform the creation of sustainable ECD teacher development.
Paper type Literature review
Keywords:
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1. Introduction
Transformation issues in South Africa are multifaceted, with a mixture of political, social, economic, and environmental(Mbandlwa et al., 2020);(Venter et al., 2024). In the case of education, transformation can happen at multiple levels, such as individual classrooms, or even across entire educational institutions(Alzoraiki et al., 2024). It typically involves adopting new practices, policies and technologies better to meet the needs of students, teachers and communities(Sliwka et al., 2024). Thus, Early Childhood Development (ECD) teachers, transformative leadership plays a crucial role in shaping the foundational learning experiences of young children. In this regard, educational institutions are seen as the conduits for facilitating young children to acquire relevant competencies(O’Keeffe et al., 2022);(Shahid, 2024). This calls for educational institutions to treat this as a genuine 21st-century need to be taken on board efficiently to allow the teachers’ participation in decision-making, open communication, critical thinking, and curriculum improvement through the use of technology and innovation(Al-Husseini et al., 2021). It is in this regard that this paper is of great significance due to the region's unique educational settings, which calls for the understanding of issues concerning educational quality, teacher support, and long-term development in ECD settings.
In this paper transformative leadership and transformational leadership are used as distinct concepts, though they share similarities in inspiring change. In this case transformational leadership focuses on motivating ECD teachers to achieve extraordinary outcomes by emphasizing vision, morale, and performance. Thus, it is centred on the leader-follower dynamic, aiming to elevate group interests and foster innovation. However, transformative leadership goes beyond ECD teacher relationships, addressing systemic and structural transformations to promote equity, justice, and profound in their professional development. Thus, transformative leadership challenges the ECD teachers’ status quo with the view of creating sustainable professional development. In other words, it emphasizes broader professional impact that ECD teachers have in laying a strong foundation for lifelong learning for children’s future endeavours(Tian & Guo, 2024)This can be catalysed by transformational leadership through fostering a sense of personal growth, empowerment and a shared vision for the future(Kasur et al., 2023).
The success of this transformation at early levels of education is largely dependent upon proactive teachers who choose progress instead of stagnation in terms of their personal and professional development. This can be supported by Target 4.2 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN’s SDGs) calls for all girls and boys to have access to quality ECD that enables them to be ready for primary education by 2030(Ally et al., 2022). Thus, transformative leadership is essential in Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher development, contributing significantly to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4.2. Visionary leaders prioritize the professional growth of ECD teachers by advocating for comprehensive training programmes that focus on both technical skills and holistic approaches to child development. They empower teachers through mentorship, fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.
Transformative leaders also promote innovative teaching strategies, encouraging educators to adopt inclusive and culturally relevant practices that address the diverse needs of children(Bush & Glover, 2016). Additionally, they work to influence policies that improve teacher remuneration, working conditions, and access to resources, ensuring sustainability in ECD programmes. By championing these efforts, transformative leaders equip ECD teachers with the tools and support needed to provide quality early education, ultimately benefiting the children they serve(Kezar & Holcombe, 2017). South Africa has made significant strides in ECD through initiatives like the 2030 Strategy for ECD programmes, which ensures universal access to quality ECD services, particularly for vulnerable children(Matlala & Molokwane, 2024). This strategy includes integrated support in education, health, nutrition, and social protection. Another notable effort is the transfer of ECD oversight to the Department of Basic Education in 2022, streamlining resources and enhancing teacher training, infrastructure, and service delivery(Proudlock et al., 2024). These policies reflect a robust commitment to building a strong foundation for young learners.
This goal discourages the dichotomy between ‘orthodox’ and heterodox’ practices, thereby creating a practical way of solving educational challenges. This places much emphasis on the need for institutional leadership to initiate, organise, motivate, and direct operations toward the accomplishment of the set goals(Ebrahim & Clasquin-Johnson, 2024). Hence, in recent times, Southern Africa has taken steps that have seen the introduction of free and taken steps to strengthen the foundation of basic education, such as introducing free and compulsory ECD in the first two years of schooling(Gofar & Dasuki, 2024). Within this context, the approach underscores South Africa's commitment to providing all children with a solid foundation for future educational achievement and social inclusion. This places much emphasis on the need for a unified approach to ECD, addressing not only education but also other issues like health, nutrition, and child protection(Miftahurrohmah et al., 2021).
It is in this regard that this paper acknowledges the relevance of professional growth, community engagement, and the integration of local knowledge systems ECD programmes. However, the evolving demands for ECD have created numerous challenges such as resource constraints and limited transformative leadership styles. Despite the need for more studies on transformational leadership styles in education, most of the research on leadership(Anwar, 2024);(Catalano et al., 2024);(Kooli, 2020);(Leibowitz et al., 2015);(Litz & Scott, 2017)tends to be centred on
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