Unit rationale, description and aim
There is a growing trend in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) toward integrated educational settings and cross-context collaboration. This evolving landscape calls for professional leaders equipped with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary leadership capabilities.
This unit is designed to develop core knowledge and skills in advocacy, leadership, management, and administration specific to ECEC contexts. Pre-service teachers will examine how early childhood policies and procedures align with State and Commonwealth legislation, all within an ethical practice framework. Through a range of learning opportunities, they will explore processes for establishing and sustaining effective partnerships that support leadership and sound administrative practices.
The unit introduces strategies for collaborative leadership, effective decision-making, and building self-awareness. Communication, negotiation, and conflict-resolution skills are enhanced through group discussions and simulated role-plays focused on strengthening home/service partnerships.
The aim of this final unit in the early childhood specialisation sequence is for pre-service teachers to consolidate their understanding through a research-informed, community-based advocacy and leadership task. This capstone experience will enable them to investigate real-world challenges in ECEC settings and apply their learning meaningfully. Such projects foster long-term, positive impacts for children, families, educators, and communities by addressing critical social needs through informed, ethical leadership.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Review responsibilities and strategies for decisio...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply an understanding of: professional communicat...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse current leadership theories and their rele...
Learning Outcome 03
Create an action learning design and investigation...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Conceptualising leadership, advocacy, management & administration in early childhood
- Advocacy for who? - why and how
- Empowering leaders
- Management for quality and continuous improvement
- Administrative leadership
- Leading organisational change
- Leadership Challenges
- Leadership Styles:
- Pedagogical Leadership
- Collaborative leadership
- Community leadership
- Conceptual leadership
- The Educational Leader
Assessment strategy and rationale
This unit includes two assessment tasks designed to meet the unit learning outcomes and support the development of graduate attributes in accordance with the University’s assessment policies.
Both assessment tasks are compulsory and are scaffolded across an action learning investigation. They are structured to build progressively on each other, the unit content, and related activities. These tasks provide pre-service teachers with meaningful opportunities to demonstrate their achievement of the learning outcomes through the exploration of leadership, management, administration, and advocacy within Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) contexts.
The use of artificial intelligence in this unit will be governed by ACU’s current policies and procedures.
To pass this unit, pre-service teachers are required to: a) submit all assessment tasks, b) demonstrate achievement of every learning outcome, c) achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50% or better for Assessment Task 1 or Assessment Task 2 and d) achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50% for the unit.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Action Learning Investigation ...
Assessment Task 1: Action Learning Investigation Design
As a Teacher/Director in an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Centre and member of a collaborative leadership team, the pre-service teacher will design an action learning investigation focused on leadership and advocacy in ECEC, drawing on their professional experience and unit learning.
The investigation will include:
- A clear focus question
- A literature review informed by contemporary research and data
- A practical implementation timeline
The investigation should reflect ethical, inclusive, and collaborative leadership practices and demonstrate advocacy for high-quality ECEC. Pre-service teachers are expected to apply leadership capabilities through active engagement and collaboration with peers.
Throughout the task, pre-service teachers will demonstrate shared decision-making, reflective practice, and effective communication, grounded in the values of responsibility, inclusion, and community responsiveness.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Investigation Report Pre-serv...
Assessment Task 2: Investigation Report
Pre-service teachers will complete a final written report based on their action learning investigation, incorporating a critical reflection on the implementation process. This should include an analysis of key possibilities, challenges encountered, ethical considerations, and any modifications made to your original plan.
The report will present a detailed analysis of their findings, directly linking them to the core elements of leadership, management, administration, and advocacy within Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) contexts. They will draw explicit connections between your insights and contemporary leadership literature, demonstrating how theoretical perspectives have informed your professional thinking and practice.
In addition, they will identify key implications of your investigation for your current and future leadership approach. The report should conclude with thoughtful, research-informed recommendations for improving leadership practices in ECEC settings.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit adopts an active, practice-based learning approach that supports the development of leadership, advocacy, and management skills in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The strategy blends collaborative learning, critical reflection, and simulated experiences to equip pre-service teachers with the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary capabilities required in today’s integrated early learning environments.
Workshops, role-plays, and group discussions promote communication, decision-making, and ethical reasoning through real-world scenarios focused on leadership and administration in ECEC contexts. Pre-service teachers will explore policies, legislation, and professional frameworks, applying this knowledge to build effective partnerships within early learning communities. These experiences are scaffolded to strengthen self-awareness, collaborative leadership, and conflict-resolution skills.
The rationale for this strategy lies in addressing the growing complexity of ECEC and the need for graduates to lead in diverse, community-oriented settings. The unit culminates in a research-informed, community-based project that challenges pre-service teachers to address social needs through purposeful advocacy and leadership. This capstone task encourages the integration of theory and practice, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to equitable, well-managed learning environments with positive, long-term outcomes for children, families, educators, and communities.
ACECQA Curriculum Specifications
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) standards:
Relating to Early Years Learning Framework
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1
Relating to
Developing family and community partnerships
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating to
Contemporary theories and practice
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating to
Ethics and professional practice
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating to
Educational leadership
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Relating to
Management and administration
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3
Relating to
Professional identity and development
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2
Relating to
Advocacy
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating to
Research
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level standards:
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toDescribe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toUnderstand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toUnderstand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO3, LO4
Relating toUnderstand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO4
Relating toUnderstand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toUnderstand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Representative texts and references
Recommended Texts and References
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). (2019). The educational leader resource.
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). (2024). The guide to the National Quality Framework. Author. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/about/guide
Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council.
Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W. (2024). Leadership: Contexts and complexities in early childhood education (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/13lm7d8/alma991013402189702352
Recommended References
Gibbs, L., & Cross, E. (Eds.). (2024). AJEC special issue: Leadership [Special Issue]. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 49(4), 281-371
Gibbs, L. (2022). Leadership emergence and development: Organizations shaping leading in early childhood education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 50 (4),672-693. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143220940324
Harrison, J. et. al. (2022). Leadership in early childhood: challenges and complexities. Sage publications
Heikka, J., Eeva, H., Rodd, J., Petra, S., Waniganayake, M. (2019). Leadership in early education in times of change. Verlag Barbara Budrich. https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/p3lnct/cdi_unpaywall_primary_10_3224_84742199
Martin, J., Nuttall, J., Henderson, L., Wood, E. (2020). Educational Leaders and the Project of Professionalisation in Early Childhood Education in Australia, International Journal of Educational Research, 101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101559 .
Nuttall, J., Henderson, L., Wood, E & Martin, J. (2024). Leadership in Early Childhood Education. A Cultural-Historical Theory of Practice Development. https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/qpf7hm/alma991013433948402352
Nuttall J, Reinertsen A. B, Armstrong-Read A. H. (2023). Learning to lead in early childhood education: New methodologies for research and practice. Cambridge University Press
Rodd, J. (2020). Leadership in early childhood: the pathway to professionalism (4th ed.) Allen & Unwin. https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/13lm7d8/alma991013229228002352
Schmit, C. (2020). Advocacy for early childhood educators: Speaking up for your students, your colleagues, and yourself. Routledge
Stamopoulos, E., & Barblett, L. (2020). Early childhood leadership in action: evidence-based approaches for effective practice. https://acu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61ACU_INST/qpf7hm/alma991013004199502352