[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-46504-en":3,"doc-seo-46504-105":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},46504,1099513958762,"Logic","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1000023916a998db790?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1782109480056885918",8,"Research & Report","Supervisors as Definers of a New Middle-Level Managers’ Leadership Model","Middle-level management research highlights education system improvement, yet limited attention is given to how supervisors define job roles for middle-level managers and shape the resulting leadership models. This role-theory-based study examines supervisors’ considerations through 25 interviews with preschool superintendents who appointed new middle-level managers as early childhood leaders. Four leadership prototypes emerge: pedagogical, supportive, change, and administrative, linking role design to distinct leadership styles.","Leadership and  \nPolicy in Schools  \nISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: [https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nlps20](https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nlps20)  \nSupervisors as definers of a new middle-level managers’ leadership model: Typology of four middle-level leadership prototypes in early childhood education  \nSmadar Moshel & Izhak Berkovich  \nTo cite this article: Smadar Moshel & Izhak Berkovich (2021): Supervisors as definers of a new middle-level managers’ leadership model: Typology of four middle-level leadership prototypes in early childhood education, Leadership and Policy in Schools, DOI:  \n10. 1080/15700763 .2021.1950774  \nTo link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2021.1950774](https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2021.1950774)  \n Published online: 21 Jul 2021.  \n\n|  Submit your article to this journal  |\n| --- |\n|  Article views: 30 |\n|  View related articles  |\n|  View Crossmark data |\n\nFull Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nlps20](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nlps20)  \nLEADERSHIP AND POLICY IN SCHOOLS  \n[https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2021.1950774](https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2021.1950774)  \nSupervisors as definers of a new middle-level managers’ leadership model: Typology of four middle-level leadership prototypes in early childhood education  \nSmadar Moshel@ and Izhak Berkovich@  \n@Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel  \nABSTRACT  \nMuch research is concerned with the contribution of middle-level management in the education system. Yet, little research has been devoted to investigating supervisors’ considerations in outlining job definitions of middle-level managers, and how these elements shape diverse middle-level managers’ leadership models. This study draws on role theory to understand supervisors’ contribution to the design of middle-level management roles, with emphasis on leadership styles. Data included 25 interviews with preschool superintendents who appointed new middle-level managers in the role of early childhood leaders. Based on the interviews, we identified four types of middle-level leadership models: pedagogical, supportive, change, and administrative.  \nIntroduction  \nA growing body of educational research is concerned with the contribution of middle-level management to organizational improvement (Farchi & Tubin, 2019; Spillane et al., 2002), to the successful implementation of changes and reform (Grootenboer et al., 2019; Mizrahi-Shtelman & Drori, 2016; Shaked & Schechter, 2019), and to the challenges and conflicts middle-level managers must cope with (Gleeson & Shain, 1999; Glover et al., 1998; Rönnerman et al., 2017). Relatively new research has been dedicated to the development of middle-level management in early childhood education systems, which went through rapid growth in the last three decades (Fenech, 2013; Heikka & Waniganayake, 2011; Shore et al., 2020; Wenner & Campbell, 2017) . Early childhood leaders (ECLs) are becoming central to early childhood systems. Countries such as Sweden, Finland, Australia, Norway, China, and Israel have integrated ECLs in their pre-primary education systems (Moshel & Berkovich, 2020; Bøe & Hognestad, 2017; Rodd, 2013; Wang & Ho, 2020; Waniganayake et al., 2019) .  \nFrequently, ECLs have no clear job description, or their function is defined broadly. Often, they move into leadership roles by accident, are under-prepared for their role, and work under a heavy veil of ambiguity (Moshel & Berkovich, 2020; Heikka & Waniganayake, 2011; Tam, 2019) . Role theory (Rizzo et al., 1970; Sluss et al., 2011) is particularly valuable in explaining how role partners, such as superintendents, contribute to shaping the ECL role. Structural-functionalist role theory highlights the importance of interactions and social dynamics for shaping one’s professional identity and role definition (Oktay, 2","cbCaigCbmsHYyAsn","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigCbmsHYyAsn","pdf",775720,2,1,18,"English","en",105,"# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Background on middle-level management in education\n## Role of early childhood leaders (ECLs)\n## Role theory and supervisors’ influence\n## Israeli preschool reform context","[{\"question\":\"What gap in the literature does the study address?\",\"answer\":\"It investigates how supervisors’ considerations in defining middle-level managers’ job roles shape different leadership models, particularly for early childhood leaders, an area previously underexplored.\"},{\"question\":\"What theoretical lens guides the research?\",\"answer\":\"The study uses role theory to explain how role partners such as superintendents contribute to designing and defining the early childhood leader role.\"},{\"question\":\"How were the four middle-level leadership models identified?\",\"answer\":\"They were derived from 25 interviews with preschool superintendents who appointed new middle-level managers, resulting in four leadership prototypes: pedagogical, supportive, change, and 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