Episode 33 : Dr. Rachel Foster

Teaching Journey : Connecting through Early Education

Dr. Rachel Foster has been in the early years sector for more than 20 years and is now a service coordinator and a sessional academic. She started her teaching journey in New Zealand and progressed into leadership positions after a few years of teaching. Rachel shared her doctoral thesis research on professional learning needs of recently appointed leaders in EC in NZ and found that early leaders seek for specific knowledge needs that support their current challenges and sought for social connections as they navigate the challenges of their newly appointed roles.

We also spoke about what leadership means to Rachel and why it is important to question in inner dialogue of discomfort.

In this episode, I invite you to ponder on:

• What do you need to effectively perform your roles and responsibilities in the leadership that you have undertaken?
• What do you want in the skills of building towards your leadership capabilities?
• What does it look like in action – for you to work towards to and for your support network or organisation to provide as you built towards your leadership capabilities?

Resource:

Foster, R.. (2023). Recently Appointed Leaders in Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand : The Quest for Useful Knowledge and Social Connection [Prof Doc Thesis]. Australian Catholic University Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education Faculty of Education and Arts https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/researcher/8yz24/rachel-foster

Guest speaker : Dr. Rachel Foster

Host: Dee Suvanmani @teachingjourneypodcast (https://www.instagram.com/teachingjourneypodcast/)