Week 4: Situational Leadership in Preschool

I see the lead teachers I work with use Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership theory with the children every day. According to Situational Leadership theory, leaders should determine the appropriate leadership style by assessing their follower’s level of ability and willingness to work. This theory outlines four levels of follower Performance Readiness: R1, unable to do something and little motivation, R2, unable but is motivated, R3, able but is not motivated, and R4, able and motivated. Each level of Performance Readiness requires a different type of leadership, so an effective leader should be able to display different types of leadership as the group moves from R1 to R4. An effective leader understands how to assess the Performance Readiness of their followers and displays the appropriate leadership type.

 

While the same language may not apply to leadership types in the preschool world and it is not quite the same because students are not working for their teachers at ages three to six, I think the theory applies. With preschool age children you will always be modifying your leadership style to meet the needs of different students. Many children come to preschool and progress through it at different developmental stages. With the addition of the pandemic and young children spending a year inside and predominately with their family, I think these differences can become greater depending on the age of the child and what experience they have outside their home. Situational leadership is very much in line with the idea of meeting children where they are rather than pushing them to be at some arbitrary standard. What I think is helpful in applying situational leadership is that children, if they know, are quick to tell you how they’re feeling and what they need help with.

 

I think you most often see children that fall into the R1 category when it is their first real experience away from their parents. They don’t really understand what preschool is or what the day consists of and some of them really don’t want to be there. These children would rather stay with their parents and continue their normal routines rather than venture into something knew. Many of the R1 type kids I’ve seen are in tears and quite literally need some handholding to get through the day.

 

I see kids fall into the R2 category when they are trying a new activity at school. They don’t know how to do the craft, play the game, or use the magnifying glass but they really want to. They are excited to give it a try but ask the teacher for help and need to be shown how to do something quite a few times. I see a lot of kids that love to try to do things on their own all the time but end up having to ask a teacher for help because they just haven’t quite developed certain skills yet because they’re still young. One example is with a girl that wanted to put her name on a picture she drew. She kind of knew how to write the first letter but needed my help to write the rest of her name.

 

In my opinion, kids that fall into the R3 categories are kids that are just having a bad day. Last Thursday there was a student that came to school and said he was just having a bad day. We started the walk to our “adventure spot” and collapsed on the floor and said he couldn’t keep walking. He wanted to go home but knew he wouldn’t be able. This is when I feel like I need to be almost his cheerleader. I offered him my hand to hold and told him that I know he can keep walking because I’ve seen him do it every day. This is also when you need to remind them of all the activities they can do and the friends they play with. Often with students that are having a bad day you need to remind them why they love coming to school every day and instill confidence in them and explain that we all must do hard things sometimes.

 

R4 category kids are often the ones that have been in the program the longest. They require very little help. They know the routines, they enjoy coming to school, and they have friends that they always play with. There are days where you never need to help them or remind of the rules. Of course, however, because they are still young they will require help from time to time.