| Small early years schools across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, often led by teachers promoted without formal leadership training, face critical instructional and community engagement challenges. This paper aligns with the sub-theme “Institutional Leadership for Curriculum Leadership” by examining how structured leadership development empowers teachers-in-charge to drive change in resource-constrained early childhood settings. The study set out to explore: How does the Foundation for Learning Transformational Instructional Leadership Course influence the leadership identity, instructional practices, and community engagement of early childhood teachers-in-charge? A qualitative descriptive approach was used, gathering data through reflective surveys from over 800 alumni across Coastal Kenya, the islands of Pemba and Ugunja, and Uganda’s Arua and Koboko districts. The survey included Likert-scale self-assessments and open-ended reflections, analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework.The findings revealed significant shifts: participants transitioned from task-based management to confident, adaptive, and instructional leadership. Teachers reported increased use of mentoring, collaborative planning, action research, and strengthened community partnerships — directly influencing teaching quality, learner outcomes, and school culture. However, they also highlighted persistent systemic barriers such as limited resources and the need for governance capacity-building. The study underscores the importance of embedding context-responsive, practice-based leadership preparation into early childhood education systems to strengthen curriculum implementation and sustainable school improvement. For policymakers and practitioners, the evidence suggests that investing in school-based leadership development can foster both instructional excellence and stronger school-community relationships in under-resourced environments. |
