Formative Interventions in Leadership Development in Early Childhood Education: The Potential of Double Stimulation

Jul 8, 2026

Upload by Logic

The article critiques the usefulness of double stimulation, a Vygotskian concept for analyzing human development, within leadership development for early childhood services in Australia. Formative interventions identify systemic tensions that hinder leaders from achieving a central goal: developing staff to enhance children’s learning. Using workshop comments and interviews with a participating leader, the study illustrates a tension between explicit professionalism expectations and an implicit division of labour assigning leaders primary responsibility for solving practice problems. The paper concludes that double stimulation can support sustainable leadership practices in ECE.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

Introduction

Leadership development context in Australian ECE

National Quality Framework and leadership roles

Double stimulation concept and its use in workshops

Operationalising double stimulation

Example of changed leadership practice

Case of Heather, childcare director

Conclusion

Formative interventions in leadership development in early childhood education: The potential of double stimulation Journal of Early Childhood Research 1–12 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: [sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav](sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav)[DOI: 10.1177/1476718X16664555](DOI: 10.1177/1476718X16664555)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/1476718X16664555)[ecr.sagepub.com](ecr.sagepub.com) Joce Nuttall and Louise Thomas Australian Catholic University, Australia Linda Henderson Monash University, Australia Abstract This article critiques the usefulness of double stimulation, a key concept in Vygotskian analyses of human development, with leaders in early childhood services in Australia. A series of formative interventions was conducted to identify and address systemic tensions that were confounding leaders’ attempts to realise a central object of activity in their work: the development of their staff in order to enhance children’s learning. An example of double stimulation is drawn from workshop comments and interviews with one of the participating leaders. The article elaborates on a tension identified between explicit cultural expectations of professionalism and an implicit division of labour that position leaders as having the primary responsibility for solving problems of practice. The article concludes by reflecting on the usefulness of double stimulation in fostering sustainable leadership practices in early childhood education. Keywords cultural-historical activity theory, double stimulation, early childhood education, leadership development Introduction This article is drawn from an ongoing programme of research and development in Australia that is attempting to develop sustainable, high-impact interventions to enhance the work of leaders in early childhood education (ECE). It begins by outlining the contemporary socio-historical context for this work in Australia and the nature of the wider project. Next, the methodology of Developmental Work Research (DWR) is outlined, followed by discussion of the concept Corresponding author: Joce Nuttall, Learning Sciences Institute, Australian Catholic University, Locked Bag 4115, Fitzroy MDC, Melbourne, VIC 3065, Australia. Email: [joce.nuttall@acu.edu.au](joce.nuttall@acu.edu.au) of ‘double stimulation’ and how this concept is operationalised during the workshops with the participating leaders. An example of changed leadership practice is drawn from the work of Heather, the Director of a childcare centre in outer Melbourne. The article concludes by arguing that the practice of double stimulation potentially has important implications for fostering sustainable leadership practices in ECE. The contemporary socio-historical context for leadership development in ECE in Australia An emphasis on leadership in ECE is a feature of ECE policy in Australia at present (Thomas and Nuttall, 2014). This focus is part ofa wider programme of sector reform (see Council of Australian Governments (COAG), 2009) and acknowledges the impact of effective leadership on enhancing quality ECE provision. A range of quality indicators have been identified as influenced by leadership practices, including programme outcomes for children, staff retention and rates of ongoing professional development (Siraj-Blatchford and Manni, 2007) . These sector reforms are also playing out in the context of slow but steady professionalisation of the ECE workforce internationally (Dalli and Urban, 2010), which includes recognition of staff qualifications as a contributor to quality outcomes for children (Huntsman, 2008) . These moves are turning attention to the need for ongoing capacity-building across the ECE workforce and service-based teams in particular. Localised leadership capacity-building is a key strategy in supporting such team development, since it locates the primary responsibility for ongoing workforce capacity

FAQs

What is the main focus of the article on leadership development in early childhood education?

The article examines how double stimulation can be used to support leadership development in early childhood education and to resolve systemic tensions affecting leaders’ work with staff to enhance children’s learning.

What tension does the article identify through the example of one participating leader?

It identifies a tension between explicit cultural expectations of professionalism and an implicit division of labour that makes leaders primarily responsible for solving problems of practice.

How does the article conclude double stimulation could affect leadership practices?

It concludes that double stimulation has potential to foster sustainable leadership practices in early childhood education.

Jul 8, 2026

Upload by Logic