Abstract

Early childhood education quality in rural areas depends significantly on effective kindergarten director leadership, yet research on leadership development frameworks for rural contexts in developing regions remains limited. This study examined kindergarten director leadership components in rural Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, assessed current versus desired leadership levels, and developed a comprehensive enhancement program. This mixed-methods study involved three phases. Phase one used purposive sampling to select five early childhood education experts for semi-structured interviews and focus groups to identify leadership components. Phase two surveyed 346 kindergarten directors from government, private, and community kindergartens selected through stratified random sampling to examine current and desired leadership states. Phase three engaged the same experts to validate the researcher-developed leadership program. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Modified Priority Needs Index (PNI_Modified). Qualitative data underwent content analysis. Findings revealed four leadership components with eight indicators: Interpersonal Management (relationship building, communication), Educational Leadership (curriculum oversight, instructional support), Strategic Operations (resource management, organizational planning), and Common Value Construction (vision development, stakeholder alignment). Current leadership practices rated at moderate levels while desired standards achieved the highest rating, indicating substantial development needs. Common Value Construction emerged as the highest priority, followed by Interpersonal Management, Strategic Operations, and Educational Leadership. The developed program comprises four training modules addressing these priorities, with experts rating its appropriateness at the highest level. This research provides a contextually relevant leadership framework and validated enhancement program for rural kindergarten directors, offering practical implications for education policy and administrator training in similar developing contexts. Future research should examine implementation effectiveness across diverse rural settings.

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