Abstract:
The kindergarten service in New Zealand was, until 1997, a state sector service. It has since 1989 been at the forefront of restructuring changes in education. 'Senior Teachers' in the service, who are mostly women, carry responsibility for professional leadership. This paper, which reports on an exploratory study, examines the ideas about leadership that a group of Senior Teachers have for themselves and investigates dilemmas, tensions and constraints for them in enacting their leadership in an increasingly neoliberal governmental environment.