ED 564: Administration of Inclusive SchoolsSaturday, February 11, 2012

Research/Making Inclusive Leadership Work

Faculty of Education

Class Outline

Inclusive LeadershipMaking Inclusive Leadership WorkChangeWhy Does Change Fail?Final Thoughts

Inclusive Leadership

Is a collective process in which everyone is included or fairly represented

Inclusive leadership is built upon a general view of inclusion that aims to achieve inclusion in all aspects of schooling and beyond the school to the local and global community, and it does so through a process that is itself inclusive

What are the barriers to inclusive leadership? 1)entrenched hierarchy 2)manner in which people perceive leadership in

terms of positions or individuals who act in certain exclusive ways

3)difficulty of linking participation in decision-making processes to the ends for which these processes are organized

For Ryan, the literature surrounding the various types of inclusive leadership provides a backdrop of what inclusive leadership might look like, as well as offering suggestions as to how it might be implemented

Emancipatory leadership involves making people aware of exclusionary practices, as well as encouraging change that promotes inclusion

Teacher leadership has taught us that schools improve not because of a solitary individual, but as a result of a myriad of individuals working together in different ways

Despite the objections of some educators, research reveals that students should be included in school leadership for both moral and pragmatic reasons

Initiatives to include the community in school leadership are also gaining attention, mainly through initiatives such as empowerment and enablement

Leadership involving the inclusion of differently abled students is focused on the prospects of differently abled students rather than all marginalized students

Making Inclusive Leadership Work1)Thinking About LeadershipWe need to stop thinking about leadership

as a sole heroic individual exerting power from atop a hierarchy

For leadership to be inclusive, all must have an opportunity to influence what happens

2)Including Members of the School Community

Allows for all to be involved, either formally or informally

3)Advocating for InclusionMake inclusion a nonnegotiable reality???

4)Educating ParticipantsAll members of the school community

must assume the role of teacher and learner

5)Developing Critical ConsciousnessFor inclusion to work, education must be

critical

6)Promoting DialogueEnsure everyone has a voice7)Emphasizing Student Learning and

Classroom Practice8)Adopting Inclusive Policymaking

Processes9)Incorporating Whole-School Approaches

Change

Change is a paradox in that we must have it to grow, and we resist it energetically.

Leaders for change are propelled by values, a vision and passion

To accomplish this, leaders must invest in relationships, and help to foster a climate of respect and caring among faculty

As well, leaders must hold realistic views about the change process, and stay the course

Can change be controlled or managed? Is change inevitable? How do you manage people who resist change? How do you assist organizational members in

coping with the uncertainty of change?

Why does Change Fail?

Underestimating complexity of changeMandating change v. providing a visionInsufficient leadershipInsufficient supportFailure to deal with multifaceted nature of

changeLack of persistence

Inattention to teachers’ personal circumstances

Lack of shared clarity about a plan for change

Weak linkage to student effects and outcomes

Missteps with scope and pacing

For Lewin (1997) change involves a three-step process:

Final Thoughts

Inclusive leadership, as envisioned by Ryan, emphasizes the process and product of leadership in that: (a)all members of the school community should be involved in influence processes; and (b)leadership processes should promote inclusive practices generally

Certainly, the movement towards inclusive leadership involves change, and change can be difficult

The question is do we seek “change for the sake of change”

“All too often we forget that in our attempts to alter and reform schooling there are elements that should not be changed but need to be kept and defended.”

Michael Apple