“If you haven’t got trust, they’re not going to come to you with anything:” Qualities of positional leader and early childhood teacher relationships that support agency

Leadership is a relational practice that influences early childhood teachers’ (ECTs) capability for agency. Agency contributes to the job satisfaction, wellbeing, and retention of ECTs-which are of pressing importance in a climate of global early childhood workforce sustainability challenges. Empirical insights presented in this paper explore the qualities of supportive relationships between positional leaders and ECTs which afford agency. Findings from a qualitative multiple case study that analysed the relationship between ECT agency and retention are provided. Data were collected from six ECTs, five service leaders, and two policy agents working in Victoria, Australia. Through the theoretical lens of Sen’s Capability Approach and Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, it is argued that positional leaders must cultivate supportive relationships with ECTs despite the neoliberal hegemony that fosters a culture of managerialism. Supportive relationships involve leaders who recognise ECTs’ personhood, cultivate encouragement, trust, and respect, and prioritise emotional and psychological safety.