Margaret May Blackwell travel fellowship announced

Deborah Wansbrough has been awarded the 2009 Margaret May Blackwell travel fellowship to look at leadership in the ECE sector.

The fellowship is administered by the NZ Council for Educational Research (NZCER)­ on behalf of the trustees and enables people working in early childhood education to study overseas. It is for a period of up to three months and is worth $16,000.

Ms Wansbrough plans to use the grant to travel to Pen Green Centre in the UK, which runs a national qualification for EC leaders. She also hopes to investigate a new EC leadership qualification in Adelaide, and explore the work of Illinois-based McCormick Centre for Early Childhood Leadership in developing on-line leadership development programmes.

She says she has long had an interest and involvement in leadership development in the EC sector. She has researched the availability and effectiveness of leadership programmes in NZ and is keen to explore what others are doing.

Currently at the New Zealand Teachers Council, Ms Wansbrough has a background in professional development and teacher education for EC teachers. She has also worked as a teacher and has had a long association with playcentre.