EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER'S LEADERSHIP: PROMOTING COLLABORATION WITH ASSISTANT TEACHER TEAM TO FAVOR LEARNING IN EARLY EDUCATION

The current article emerged as a product of the importance given internationally to the development of relational skills in initial education leaders that allow them to influence the involvement of their work team in favor of achieving the learning goals of children. In order to do this, promoting collaborative environments is presented as a great opportunity to strengthen teamwork among those who are directly involved in the interaction with boys and girls in educational establishments. In Chile, Leadership studies in Early Childhood Education point towards the need to develop collaborative spaces, highlighting and making the strengths of the working team visible, emphasizing the role of the Early Childhood Teacher as they lead the classroom team in the implementation of the pedagogical practice, being a fundamental part of this the coordinated actions with their assistant teacher(s). Despite the importance of generating leadership practices that promote collaboration with teams in early childhood education, little evidence from the literature has addressed how the pedagogical leadership of the early childhood teacher in the classroom fosters or favors collaborative work with the teaching assistant's team, in order to improve learning in children. Therefore, this research proposes a multiple case study whose purpose is to characterize the leadership practices of early childhood teachers, who promote collaborative work with their teaching assistant ' s team, focused on the learning of infants. The data collection techniques that were used in this research consisted of semi-structured interviews, observation records, document review, and thematic analysis to address the phenomenon. The results obtained are presented in four major themes or categories: Pedagogical leadership of the early childhood teacher described by the institution and its members; Pedagogical focus on the role and functions of the assistant teachers in infant care; Obstacles and opportunities that intervene in the promotion of collaborative relationships between teachers and assistant teachers, and Collaborative practices with a pedagogical focus among teachers and assistant teachers. In summary, it is revealed that leadership practices that promote pedagogical collaboration of the teaching assistant's team are linked to management and organization of work, carrying out permanent training, positive work environment, shared vision among those who make up the teams, and finally the importance of recognition and validation of the team in environments of trust, communication, camaraderie, empathy and participation. It is concluded that these practices make it possible to visualize the pedagogical potential of the teaching assistant's team and not only their contribution from a care role, for which it is essential to consider the need for updated and permanent training in the different areas of child development and the curriculum in initial education, in a way that the collaboration that the assistant teachers provide configure a real and responsible contribution to the learning achievements of the children who attend initial education classrooms.