Exploring the experiences of principals in managing the area of Early Childhood Development (ECD) provisions in the context of Karachi, Pakistan

The focus of this study was to explore the experiences of principals in managing the area of Early Childhood Development (ECD) provisions in the context of Karachi, Pakistan. The areas of exploration were principals' perception about the quality ECD education, principal's role in managing ECD, leadership styles in managing ECD, challenges of ECD operations, opportunities in ECD provision and strategies of transforming challenges into opportunities. An exploratory case study approach of the qualitative research methodology was used to carry out this study, because this approach gives room to the researcher to study the phenomenon in detailed manners through data collection from different sources. The findings of the study show that principals were the nucleus of academic and administrative activities of their educational institution and they had to demonstrate a dynamic role to perform these activities effectively. An effective ECD principal should have knowledge about brain development and child development of ECD to facilitate young children's learning. Principals were responsible for establishment of the pedagogical methods that suit for ECD and ensured the care of the different learning styles of learners. Principals were also responsible for creating enabling environment in the school, and they were a bridge between the institution and community and principals' effective communication, leadership style and managerial skills had a direct impact on overall school performance. The findings also identified some parents and teachers related challenges that principals were facing while managing ECD in their schools. The findings suggested the parental involvement and community engagement as two available opportunities in ECD settings. Based on the findings, the study makes recommendations for school management, principals, policy makers, government, and parents and community. That is, schools should provide in-house training sessions for their ECD teachers and staff to update their ECD knowledge and practice. Principal at ECD level should have an in-depth knowledge about ECD and should know about different leadership styles to adapt the most suitable one for their school. Government should have a clear ECD policy and curriculum to ensure quality ECD provision and teachers training in public sector. Government should also take all the ECD stockholders on board while framing ECD policies. The findings also suggest a strong school and community partnership to ensure the quality ECD environment in the school that foster the learning of young children.