The role of the center head’s leadership practices for preschool teachers’ goal setting in day care centers

High process quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is essential for supporting children’s learning and development. While numerous studies have examined centers’ structural aspects and ECEC professionals’ characteristics in relation to process quality, research on organizational aspects such as leadership or team processes remains limited. Drawing on the structure–process model of pedagogical quality in ECEC, goal-setting theory, and path–goal theory of leadership, and using data from 1310 preschool teachers and 204 center heads collected as part of a national evaluation study in Germany, the present study investigates the relationship between center heads’ leadership practices regarding goal setting and preschool teachers’ goal setting, a factor previously shown to be relevant for high process quality in ECEC. Results indicate that center heads’ leadership practices were positively associated with preschool teachers’ goal setting, and this relation was moderated by preschool teachers’ self-efficacy, in that a significant positive association was only found for preschool teachers with comparably low self-efficacy. These findings highlight the relevance of leadership practices tailored to individual characteristics, supporting goal-oriented pedagogical practice to attain high process quality in ECEC.