[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-46503-en":3,"doc-seo-46503-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},46503,1099513958607,"Jiven","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002390cf8733938c?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778829742770036399",8,"Research & Report","Making sense of teacher leadership in early childhood education in China","This paper presents a theoretical discussion of teacher leadership in early childhood education (ECE) within Chinese policy contexts. Since 2010, education reforms in China have aimed to develop teacher leadership and improve education quality, yet implementation at school level remains limited, creating a policy–practice gap. The discussion frames teacher leadership through key dimensions—formal versus informal roles, and role versus practice—while examining how these are conceptualized and enacted in quality improvement efforts and related contextual factors.","International Journal of Leadership in Education  \nTheory and Practice  \nISSN: 1360-3124 (Print) 1464-5092 (Online) Journal homepage: [http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tedl20](http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tedl20)  \nMaking sense of teacher leadership in early childhood education in China  \nMo Wang & Dora Ho  \nTo cite this article: Mo Wang & Dora Ho (2018): Making sense of teacher leadership in early childhood education in China, International Journal of Leadership in Education, DOI: 10. 1080/13603124 .2018.1529821  \nTo link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1529821](https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1529821)  \n Published online: 24 Oct 2018.  \n\n|  Submit your article to this journal  |\n| --- |\n|  Article views: 13 |\n|  View Crossmark data |\n\nFull Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tedl20](http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tedl20)  \nINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION [https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1529821](https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1529821)  \nMaking sense of teacher leadership in early childhood education in China  \nMo Wang  and Dora Ho  \nDepartment of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China  \nABSTRACT  \nThe purpose of this paper is to offer a theoretical discussion on teacher leadership in early childhood education (ECE) in Chinese contexts. Since 2010, the Chinese government has initiated a comprehensive education reform in ECE, with strategies for developing teacher leadership and promoting education quality. However, at the school level there is a lack of leadership preparation and development, along with a gap between policy initiative and its implementation. How to narrow this gap between policy and practice in teacher leadership has become a critical issue for ECE in China. This paper suggests that ‘formal role or informal role’and ‘role or practice’ are important dimensions of teacher leadership in a Chinese, policy-driven context. In this regard, it is worth exploring how teacher leadership is conceptualized and enacted in the process of quality improvement and related contextual factors. In doing so, an agenda could be identified for future research, contributing to theories on the development of teacher leadership in the global discourse.  \nIntroduction  \nIn recent years, discussions regarding the connection of leadership and quality education in early childhood education (ECE) have gained momentum, as leadership is considered a key element for quality ECE (Sims, Forrest, Semann, & Slattery, 2015). Sims et al. (2015) point out that leadership is a key factor influencing quality improvement in ECE. As a form of leadership, teacher leadership, which can promote teachers’ professional development, receives considerable academic attention (Frost, 2012; Hallet, 2013; Muijs & Harris, 2006; Poekert, 2012). The notion of teacher leadership is considered the importance of transformation of teaching and learning as a vehicle to connect key stakeholders to work together for the development of community of learners (Hobson & Moss, 2010), and provides the means for open communications, trust and rapport, continuous inquiry and improvement of work (Childs-Bowen, Moller, & Scrivner, 2000). Indeed, critical contemporary agendas such as quality, accountability, and improved professionalism in ECE are advocated to explore the important leadership role of teachers (Hallet, 2013; Stamopoulos, 2012) . Globally, teacher leadership practice as a key factor in determining the quality of schools has been advocated by education reform policies in Western developed countries such as  \nCONTACT Mo Wang  wangmo@s.eduhk. hk  The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group  \n2  M. WANG AND D. HO  \nthe USA (Frost, 2012), Australia (Colmer, Waniganayake, & Field, 2014; Kri","cbCaii1dTwF0a5wL","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaii1dTwF0a5wL","pdf",1376876,3,1,16,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Teacher leadership and ECE quality\n## Policy reforms in China\n## Conceptual foundations: influence and relationships\n## Power and authority in teacher leadership","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of the paper?\",\"answer\":\"The paper offers a theoretical discussion on teacher leadership in early childhood education in Chinese contexts, focusing on how it is conceptualized and enacted.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the paper consider teacher leadership important in China’s ECE reforms?\",\"answer\":\"Since 2010, China has launched comprehensive ECE reforms to develop teacher leadership and promote quality, but gaps remain between policy initiatives and school-level implementation.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper frame teacher leadership in the Chinese policy-driven context?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights two dimensions: formal versus informal roles, and role versus practice, to explore how leadership is enacted during quality 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