Leadership is not a dirty word: Exploring and embracing leadership in ECEC

Leadership continues to be an energetically debated and contentious . In many contexts it elicits heated and robust discussion and illustrates a of disenchantment with the enactment of leadership by corporate moguls, and others in positions of leadership responsibility (Wheatley, M. 2005. Our Way: Leadership for Uncertain Times. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler ; Sinclair, A. 2007. Leadership for the Disillusioned: Moving Beyond Myths and to Leading that Liberates. Sydney: Allen and Unwin; Preskill, S., and . Brookfield. 2009. Learning as a Way of Leading: Lessons from the Struggle for Justice. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons). This was clearly illustrated in 2008 Icelandic economic context where the community was turned upside down to adventurous ‘entrepreneurs’, who, within a defective surveillance system, the collapse of the bank and financial system. In contrast leadership in the of early childhood education could be expected to reflect aspects connected to stereotypically feminine leadership style and demonstrate a collaborative or team , participation and power sharing (Shakeshaft, C. 1989. Women in Administration. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE; Strachan, J. 1993. “Including the Personal and the Professional: Researching Women in Educational .” Gender and Education 5 (1): 71–80). However, this article explores studies of leadership in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC), conducted in Iceland and the other in Australia and findings illustrate aspects as micro-politics and horizontal violence which emerge as powerful influences leadership aspirations and enactment.