CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Includes bibliographical references.

Foreword / Eeva Hujala - Leadership in early education in times of change : an orientation / Johanna Heikka, Eeva Hujala, Jillian Rodd, Petra Strehmel and Manjula Waniganayake - Section I. Leadership preparation and training - Shadowing as a method in leadership preparation in teaching practice in early childhood teacher education in Norway / Karin Hognestad and Marit Bøe - Supervising and supporting grade R practitioners in South African schools / Matshediso Rebecca Modise - Mentoring of graduate teachers by educational leaders in early childhood settings : a systematic review of leadership studies from Australia and Finland / Yuki Takahashi Braybrook - Knowledge transfer in German early childhood education settings : the role of leaders / Daniela Ulber and Petra Strehmel - Which personnel development measures do companies operating daycare centers in Germany use? / Eva Kless - Measures of personnel development in different types of German early childhood education (ECE) enterprises / Petra Strehmel - Section II. Enacting and developing leadership in ECE settings - How do early childhood education directors in Finland see themselves? Selected findings based on the orientation project / Ulla Soukainen - Does leadership exist in early childhood education in Tanzania? / Fortidas Bakuza - Leadership diffractions, vibrations and productions : perspectives from Norway / Merete Moe - Developing a learning organization : creating a common culture of knowledge sharing : an action research project in an early childhood centre in Norway / Per Tore Granrusten - Diversity of the assessments of a joint leadership model in early childhood education in Finland / Elina Fonsén and Marjo Mäntyjärvi - Section III. Leadership and governance - Complexity leadership theory : a framework for leading in Australian early childhood education settings / Leanne Gibbs, Frances Press and Sandie Wong - Implementing the Norwegian framework plan : organizational and leadership translation strategies / Birgitte Ljunggren and Kari Hoås Moen - Current Japanese leadership roles in meeting social changes in early childhood education / Chika Inoue and Masayo Kawakita - Investing in Hamburg's future : early childhood education and children's day care in Hamburg / Jan Pörksen and Dirk Bange - Section IV. International comparisons - Working as early childhood centre directors and deputies : perspectives from Australia, Finland and Norway / Leena Halttunen [and others] - International review of ECE leadership research : Finland, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Africa and the United States under review / Elina Fonsén [and others] - The TALIS Starting Strong Survey : implications for the leadership discourse in early childhood education and care / Daniel Turani and Simone Bloem - Epilogue / Jillian Rodd.

The collection brings together the latest work of researchers from Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe focusing on early childhood leadership matters. It covers different aspects of leadership in early education: professional education and development, identity and leadership strategies as well as governance and leadership under different frame conditions.