Leadership in early childhood education: case studies of Indonesian public kindergartens

Leadership studies in early childhood education (ECE) have increased throughout the world. However, there has been only a limited amount of research conducted on this topic in Southeast Asia. The purpose of the research reported in this article was to examine early childhood leadership at the kindergarten level in Indonesia. This is an exploratory study of multiple cases in Indonesia, involving semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. The participants were interviewed online in four regions: the capital (Jakarta), the central part (Bali), the western part (North Sumatra) and the eastern part (South Sulawesi), an example of maximum variation sampling. There were 10 participants in each case study kindergarten, heads, teachers, teaching assistants, administrative assistants, parents and local education officers. The research shows that leadership of ECE in Indonesia is problematic, beginning with the selection process for principals, which is dominated by political considerations. Heads also appeared to be overburdened with administrative duties, such as managing budgets, updating teacher and student data, and managing assets. Therefore, they have less time to engage in other Leadership activities, such as professional leadership and parental involvement. The findings contribute to a better understanding of kindergarten leadership in Indonesia.