'Nobody left behind': barriers to engagement in early years digitally mediated leadership development

Article

Halls, K., Sakr, M. and Cooper, K. 2024. 'Nobody left behind': barriers to engagement in early years digitally mediated leadership development. Early Years. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2024.2308099
TypeArticle
Title'Nobody left behind': barriers to engagement in early years digitally mediated leadership development
AuthorsHalls, K., Sakr, M. and Cooper, K.
Abstract

This research pinpoints the barriers UK early years (EY) leaders face in accessing digitally mediated leadership development. Furthermore, we consider initiatives to disrupt digital exclusion and ensure more equitable access to professional learning opportunities. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic catalysed an upsurge in the use of digitally mediated professional learning in the UK EY sector. While digital mediation has proven useful in delivering EY leadership development programmes, this article considers who has access to these programmes and who is left behind. Through an inductive thematic analysis applied to 24 qualitative case studies with UK EY training providers, underpinned by the multilevel intersectionality model created by Núñez (2014), we consider how digital exclusion operates through socioeconomic status, geography and race within the sector. Based on this, we emphasise the need for the sector to disrupt these inequities by enacting bottom-up and top-down initiatives to foster digital inclusion across EY.

KeywordsDigital exclusion; professional learning; multilevel intersectionality; digitally mediated leadership development
Sustainable Development Goals4 Quality education
Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
Research GroupCentre for Education Research and Scholarship (CERS)
PublisherTaylor & Francis (Routledge)
JournalEarly Years
ISSN0957-5146
Electronic1472-4421
Publication dates
Online31 Jan 2024
Publication process dates
Submitted31 Jan 2023
Accepted13 Jan 2024
Deposited25 Jan 2024
Output statusIn press
Publisher's version
License
Copyright Statement

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2024.2308099
Web of Science identifierWOS:001153320400001
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/z0v21

Log in to edit

Download files

Publisher's version
Halls-Sakr-Cooper-2024-Nobody_left_behind.pdf
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

  • 60
    total views
  • 31
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Constructions of babyhood among baby room leaders in the UK
Halls, K. and Sakr, M. 2024. Constructions of babyhood among baby room leaders in the UK. Journal of Early Childhood Research.
‘Maybe that makes a difference actually’: Attuning to praxis for anti-racist social justice leadership among nursery school head teachers in the UK
Tembo, S., Sakr, M. and Dujczynski, M. 2024. ‘Maybe that makes a difference actually’: Attuning to praxis for anti-racist social justice leadership among nursery school head teachers in the UK. Journal of Early Childhood Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X241257330
Re-imagining the Froebelian influence on early childhood education as a dynamic and ever-changing web of encounter
Sakr, M. and Kaur, V. 2024. Re-imagining the Froebelian influence on early childhood education as a dynamic and ever-changing web of encounter. Pedagogy, Culture and Society. 32 (4), pp. 923-940. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2024.2355092
'Dissensus’ and the emergence of activist leadership in the baby room of UK early childhood settings
Sakr, M. and Halls, K. 2024. 'Dissensus’ and the emergence of activist leadership in the baby room of UK early childhood settings. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/17461979241241514
The everyday advocacy work of the baby room leader
Sakr, M. 2023. The everyday advocacy work of the baby room leader. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491231168942
Introduction
O'Sullivan, J. and Sakr, M. 2022. Introduction. in: Sakr, M. and O'Sullivan, J. (ed.) Pedagogical leadership in early childhood education: conversations from across the world London, UK Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 1-9
Turning towards discomfort in postdevelopmental approaches to childhood art: The potentials of multimodal mediated discourse analysis
Sakr, M. 2022. Turning towards discomfort in postdevelopmental approaches to childhood art: The potentials of multimodal mediated discourse analysis. Multimodality and Society. 2 (4), pp. 434-450. https://doi.org/10.1177/26349795221135579
‘She’s nice company and a good friend’: thinking with Haraway to reconceptualise children’s playful interactions with Alexa in the family home
Sakr, M. 2021. ‘She’s nice company and a good friend’: thinking with Haraway to reconceptualise children’s playful interactions with Alexa in the family home. in: Mikats, J., Kink-Hampersberger, S. and Oates-Indruchová, L. (ed.) Creative families: Gender and technologies of everyday life Cham, Switzerland Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 167-188
Advancing pedagogical leadership at national level: looking for a policy window
Bonetti, S. and Sakr, M. 2022. Advancing pedagogical leadership at national level: looking for a policy window. in: Sakr, M. and O'Sullivan, J. (ed.) Pedagogical leadership in early childhood education: conversations from across the world London, UK Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 181-193
An organisational approach to supporting pedagogical leadership: reporting on a case study with London Early Years Foundation
Sakr, M. 2022. An organisational approach to supporting pedagogical leadership: reporting on a case study with London Early Years Foundation. in: Sakr, M. and O'Sullivan, J. (ed.) Pedagogical leadership in early childhood education: conversations from across the world London, UK Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 119-131
Continuing professional development for the early years workforce in England since 2015: a synthesis of survey data highlighting commonalities, discrepancies and gaps
Sakr, M. and Bonetti, S. 2021. Continuing professional development for the early years workforce in England since 2015: a synthesis of survey data highlighting commonalities, discrepancies and gaps. Early Years. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2021.1959524
Stretchy time or screen time: how early years practitioners conceptualise time in relation to children's digital play
Sakr, M. and Oscar, A. 2022. Stretchy time or screen time: how early years practitioners conceptualise time in relation to children's digital play. Early Years. 42 (4-5), pp. 391-405. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2020.1744530
Embedding student feedback in deep pedagogic reflection: the potentials of drawing and Deleuzian analysis
Sakr, M. and Burghardt, V. 2022. Embedding student feedback in deep pedagogic reflection: the potentials of drawing and Deleuzian analysis. Teaching in Higher Education. 27 (3), pp. 281-296. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1716712
'It just opened my eyes a bit more': student engagement with Instagram to develop understanding of complex concepts
Sakr, M. 2019. 'It just opened my eyes a bit more': student engagement with Instagram to develop understanding of complex concepts. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1613356
Young children drawing together on the iPad versus paper: How collaborative creativity is shaped by different semiotic resources
Sakr, M. 2019. Young children drawing together on the iPad versus paper: How collaborative creativity is shaped by different semiotic resources. International Journal of Education and the Arts. 20 (20), pp. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.26209/ijea20n20
The screen and the sand-timer: The integration the interactive whiteboard into an early years free-flow learning environment
Sakr, M. and Scollan, A. 2019. The screen and the sand-timer: The integration the interactive whiteboard into an early years free-flow learning environment. Journal of Early Childhood Research. 17 (3), pp. 190-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X19851538
Multimodal participation frameworks during young children’s collaborative drawing on paper and on the iPad
Sakr, M. 2018. Multimodal participation frameworks during young children’s collaborative drawing on paper and on the iPad. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 29, pp. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.05.004
'We’re just gonna scribble it': The affective and social work of destruction in children’s art-making with different semiotic resources
Sakr, M. 2017. 'We’re just gonna scribble it': The affective and social work of destruction in children’s art-making with different semiotic resources. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. 18 (2), pp. 227-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949117714084
In pursuit of quality: early childhood qualifications and training policy
Elwick, A., Osgood, J., Robertson, L., Sakr, M. and Wilson, D. 2018. In pursuit of quality: early childhood qualifications and training policy. Journal of Education Policy. 33 (4), pp. 510-525. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2017.1416426
Early Years Training and Qualifications in England: Issues for policy and practice
Osgood, J., Elwick, A., Robertson, L., Sakr, M. and Wilson, D. 2017. Early Years Training and Qualifications in England: Issues for policy and practice. TACTYC.
Early Years Teacher and Early Years Educator: a scoping study of the impact, experiences and associated issues of recent early years qualifications and training in England
Osgood, J., Elwick, A., Robertson, L., Sakr, M. and Wilson, D. 2017. Early Years Teacher and Early Years Educator: a scoping study of the impact, experiences and associated issues of recent early years qualifications and training in England. TACTYC.
Dark play in digital playscapes
Osgood, J., Sakr, M. and de Rijke, V. 2017. Dark play in digital playscapes. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. 18 (2), pp. 109-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949117714074
Digital technologies in early childhood art: enabling playful experiences
Sakr, M. 2017. Digital technologies in early childhood art: enabling playful experiences. London Bloomsbury.
Exploring whole body interaction and design for museums
Price, S., Sakr, M. and Jewitt, C. 2016. Exploring whole body interaction and design for museums. Interacting with Computers. 28 (5), pp. 569-583. https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwv032
Mobile experiences of historical place: a multimodal analysis of emotional engagement
Sakr, M., Jewitt, C. and Price, S. 2016. Mobile experiences of historical place: a multimodal analysis of emotional engagement. Journal of the Learning Sciences. 25 (1), pp. 51-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2015.1115761
Imitative or Iconoclastic? How young children use ready-made images in digital art
Sakr, M., Connelly, V. and Wild, M. 2015. Imitative or Iconoclastic? How young children use ready-made images in digital art. The International Journal of Art and Design Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12104
Child-father creative text-making at home with crayons, iPad, collage & PC
Kucirkova, N. and Sakr, M. 2015. Child-father creative text-making at home with crayons, iPad, collage & PC. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 17, pp. 59-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2015.05.003
Collaborative creativity to enhance wellbeing in early years settings
Sakr, M. 2015. Collaborative creativity to enhance wellbeing in early years settings. EECERA 2015. Barcelona
Parent-child closeness in art-making with digital and non-digital technologies
Sakr, M. 2015. Parent-child closeness in art-making with digital and non-digital technologies. EECERA 2015. Barcelona
Exploring and extending practitioner responses to young children’s art-making
Sakr, M. 2015. Exploring and extending practitioner responses to young children’s art-making. BERA 2015. Belfast
Collaborative creativity in digital text-making: challenging notions of personal ownership
Sakr, M. 2015. Collaborative creativity in digital text-making: challenging notions of personal ownership. Doncaster University Conference: Digital Pedagogies.
Schematic or subversive? Ready-made imagery in children’s digital art-making
Sakr, M. 2015. Schematic or subversive? Ready-made imagery in children’s digital art-making. Sheffield University Symposium on Childhood & The Digital Age.
Making the ‘here’ and ‘now’: rethinking children’s digital photography with Deleuzian concepts
Sakr, M. 2015. Making the ‘here’ and ‘now’: rethinking children’s digital photography with Deleuzian concepts. in: Hackett, A., Proctor, L. and Seymour, J. (ed.) Children’s Spatialities: Embodiment, emotions and agency Basingstoke Emerald.
"Evil cats" and "jelly floods": young children’s collective constructions of digital art-making in the early years classroom
Sakr, M., Connelly, V. and Wild, M. 2016. "Evil cats" and "jelly floods": young children’s collective constructions of digital art-making in the early years classroom. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. 30 (1), pp. 128-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2015.1107156
Narrative in young children’s digital art-making
Sakr, M., Connelly, V. and Wild, M. 2016. Narrative in young children’s digital art-making. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. 16 (3), pp. 289-310. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798415577873
'Too high an ideal for the work required'? Minnie James and the intellectual life of the librarian
Sakr, M. 2011. 'Too high an ideal for the work required'? Minnie James and the intellectual life of the librarian. Library & Information History. 27 (3), pp. 179-193. https://doi.org/10.1179/175834911X13046881149240
The semiotic work of the hands in scientific inquiry
Sakr, M., Jewitt, C. and Price, S. 2014. The semiotic work of the hands in scientific inquiry. Classroom Discourse. 5 (1), pp. 51-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2013.868078
‘Wrighting’ the self: new technologies and textual subjectivities
Sakr, M. 2012. ‘Wrighting’ the self: new technologies and textual subjectivities. Learning, Media and Technology. 37 (1), pp. 119-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2012.636366
Making the 'here' and 'now': rethinking children's digital photography with Deleuzian concepts
Sakr, M. and Kucirkova, N. 2015. Making the 'here' and 'now': rethinking children's digital photography with Deleuzian concepts. in: Hackett, A., Procter, L. and Seymour, J. (ed.) Children's Spatialities: Embodiment, Emotions and Agency London, UK. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 54–74
12 teachers’ use of writing in displays of young children’s artwork
Sakr, M., Connelly, V. and Wild, M. 2015. 12 teachers’ use of writing in displays of young children’s artwork. in: Archer, A. and Breur, E. (ed.) Multimodality in Writing: The state of the art in theory, methodology and pedagogy Brill.