Early Education Leaders at UMass Boston
Early Education Leaders, an Institute at UMass Boston, drives systems change in early care and education. The Institute cultivates racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse leadership that reflects local communities through innovative research, professional development, and advocacy. Early Education Leaders amplifies educator voices, builds field-wide infrastructure, and nurtures leadership that ensures all young children and families experience equitable learning opportunities.
At the heart of the Institute’s approach is its research-based curriculum and entrepreneurial leadership program, Leading for Change in Early Care and Education. Taught as a highly interactive cohort-based learning community, Leading for Change cultivates leadership
mindsets among early childhood professionals who then develop a Change Project, a concrete action plan to improve program quality and promote equity. Graduates take on new leadership roles by starting their own programs, implementing high-quality teaching practices, conducting research to advance the field, and advocating for policy and systems change. Through Early Education Leaders, early educators develop and grow their professional networks and make valuable connections with other emerging leaders. The Early Educator Leadership Network bolsters, re-energizes, and connects established and emerging leaders for mutual support and sustained impact. The annual Early Educator Leadership Forum brings together early educators for action-oriented networking and leadership presentations that center their voices and innovations.
Early Education Leaders also conducts cutting-edge, policy-relevant research that elevates the leadership, experience, and talents of diverse early educators across local, state, and national systems, contributing new knowledge about how leadership development serves as a powerful lever for systems change.
Our Research-Based Approach
One of the original partners in developing MECLP was the University of Massachusetts Boston. Early Education Leaders led an evaluation of three cohorts of its leadership program, published in the Early Childhood Education Journal in July 2018. Researchers found that educators experienced four transformative shifts in their development as leaders: redefining leadership, coming to see themselves as leaders, identifying their purpose as leaders, and developing professional and leadership networks and relationships. This research continues to inform the design and evolution of leadership development programs at Early Education Leaders and its partner institutions.
Leadership
Early Education Leaders is led by Dr. Anne Douglass, professor of early childhood policy and leadership and founding executive director of Early Education Leaders, and formerly an early educator for 20 years. A nationally recognized expert on the early care and education workforce, leadership, and quality improvement, she has led transformative innovations in higher education and in expanding access to equitable professional development for early educators. She served as the Co-Director of Research for the National Early Care and Education Workforce Center. Dr. Douglass is the author of Leading for Change in Early Care and Education: Cultivating Leadership from Within (2017). Her research has been widely published in academic journals, books, and media outlets. She frequently presents on early educator leadership at national and international conferences. Her scholarly work is deeply grounded in two decades of hands-on experience in early care and education—as a teacher, center director, family child care owner and educator, and as a leadership coach and mentor.