FULL REFERENCE: Summers, T. & Kamp, A. (2023). Female social justice leaders in the early childhood profession: A narrative inquiry on the origins of leadership. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 25, pp. 29 – 43.
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ABSTRACT: Sonja Davies, Kai Tahu, 1923-2005, was dedicated to social justice in Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) across various arenas, including early childhood education. She received the Queen’s Service award in 1987 and was a member of Parliament from 1987 to 1993. This article, drawn from kaupapa Māori, narrative research, investigates Sonja’s life with a focus on her upbringing, family, and contributions to early childhood. Sonja’s story, compiled from autobiographies, interview and document sources, was analysed thematically to explore the origins of her leadership. The analysis revealed that the origins of Sonja’s leadership are found in role models, personal struggles, mana wahine and social norms. Her leadership had a cost and was influenced by gender and generational contexts. Sonja’s leadership skills, combined with the social, economic, and cultural context that existed for her generation, enabled her to address inequities and to achieve change in the social justice sphere. Sonja’s story is important due to its place in time and history and because female leaders are underrepresented in the leadership literature. Drawing on Sonja’s story and the literature this article argues that the origins of Sonja’s leadership offer insights for the development of current and future leaders in early childhood education and beyond.
KEY WORDS: Sonja Davies, early childhood leadership, social justice, politics of childcare.
INTRODUCTION
Lyman et al (2012) states that “there is no universal understanding of social justice leadership amongst scholars” (p.4). Despite this lack of common understanding, the importance of leadership is acknowledged in the early childhood education sector in Aotearoa. Scholars also recognise that historical narratives of early childhood leaders have the potential to make an important contribution to leadership and practice (May et al., 2021). Sonja Davies has influenced early childhood education from a historical perspective in Aotearoa, New Zealand. When Sonja learned about her Māori ancestry and discovered her whakapapa (see Glossary for Māori terms) later in life she learnt the importance of identity for supporting her leadership. Given Sonja’s identity as a Māori woman the research reported on in this article draws on Māori leadership literature and reflects a kaupapa Māori perspective. The focus on Te ao Māori in this article also reflects the context of Aotearoa as a bicultural nation and the researcher’s identity as a wahine Māori.
