Instructional Leadership Practices, Communication Skills, Collaborating Skills, and Performance of Early Childhood Educators: A Causal Model

Abstract

Early childhood educators play a pivotal role in child development, particularly in brain development, which is known to be significantly advanced by age five. This study explored the impact of instructional leadership practices, communication skills, and collaborating skills among early childhood educators in the Philippines, a context where early childhood education integration into the K12 curriculum is a recent development. The participants of the study were the 300 Early Childhood Educators both in the private and public schools from the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. Descriptive correlational and causal comparative research designs were employed in the study. Stratified random sampling was used to ensure the representativeness of the sample. The Early Childhood Educators competently applied the particular aspects of instructional leadership strategies. Communication skills are generally perceived as effective across various domains, including verbal, non-verbal, written, and visual communication. The collaborating skills are effective in both internal and external contexts. Early Childhood Educators' performance is significantly predicted by professional development, verbal communication, visual communication, and collaborative skills. The best-fitting causal model on the performance of Early Childhood Educators is anchored on non-verbal communication, professional development, visual communication and written communication, as mediated by collaboration skills and verbal communication. This model is called CHARMAINE PAGONZAGA’S Model on the Performance of Early Childhood Educators.