Pedagogistans pedagogiska ledarskap

Sammanfattning: The pedagogista is a new professional role in Swedish preschools. Some people question the role, which originates from Italy, since it is believed to carry out a pedagogical leadership that belongs to the head of the preschool according to the curriculum and the Education Act. Consequently, there is cause for examining what pedagogical leadership means in an organization with a pedagogista. However, re- search has shown the success of distributed leadership within schools. Hence, it ́s interesting to find out whether the pedagogical leadership of the pedagogista could be understood as distributed leadership and what that would implicate. The purpose of this thesis is to explain and understand the pedagogical leadership of the pedagogista. The purpose has been examined from three perspectives: Where in the organization does the pedagogista belong? How is the pedagogista ́s mission defined? How is the pedagogical leadership distributed between the pedagogista and the head of the preschool? The methods used for gathering empirical data have been three. First of all, seven pedagogistas and their respective heads have been interviewed. Secondly, the teach- ers at the schools in question have answered an inquiry. Finally, the written mission statements of the pedagogistas have been analysed. The results show that the pedagogista has a middle role between the head and the teachers. This middle role requires professional flexibility as well as loyalty towards all parties. Furthermore, the pedagogista ́s mission is, in short, to support and lead the teachers ́ learning, as well as to support both the teachers ́ and the head ́s systematic work on quality. The leadership of the heads resembles a transformational leadership, while the pedagogista clearly has an instructional leadership, which could very well be defined as distributed pedagogical leadership. The conclusion is, however, that the mission of the pedagogista is indistinct. It would probably gain from being more distinctly expressed by the head, as well as systematically followed up. The acknowledgement of the pedagogista ́s leadership could be a key to increasing the legitimacy of the pedagogista.