Understanding Early Childhood Education Leadership for Literacy Development in the United Arab Emirates

The International Literacy Association’s literacy model was used as a framework for exploring the leadership type required to advance literacy development in the United Arab Emirates, which is the process of developing structures to enhance ECE. In addition, ECE teachers (n = 15) were interviewed to understand their perspectives on leadership and efforts towards creating a conducive environment for collaboration between teachers and parents. The result showed that participants favoured good relationship qualities and pedagogical support from leaders. However, while a conducive environment has been developed, there are challenges pertaining to embracing diversity, unhealthy competition between teachers, and a lack of cooperation in the form of parents derailing teaching activities. The study concludes with the need for teacher educators to promote and inculcate human relationship development within ECE leaders’ training, and other study implications are also discussed.