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ERIC Number: ED554758
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 208
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-3030-7893-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Inclusive Education: Perceptions of School Administration Team Members (SATM) in General Elementary Schools in Israel
Shani, Michal
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Northcentral University
Inclusion policy refers to a reform where diversity among all learners, including those with disabilities, is supported. In order to implement this policy, schools have to undergo a process of transformation toward inclusive education where children receive equal education with learning opportunities for all. In an ideal school, where inclusive education is implemented successfully, all staff members collaborate and create an ecological setting of inclusion. In order to achieve such a sustainable ecology of inclusion, pedagogical, organizational and psychological restructuring should take place, and a strong inclusion-oriented leadership in schools has to be activated. Yet, little is known about school administration team members' (SATM) understanding of inclusion and their perceptions of their roles as inclusion leaders or facilitators. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of general elementary SATM's role in the process of inclusion of children with disabilities in their schools. The SATM included: school principals, vice principals and school counselors of seven schools in Israel. Data were collected through 21 face to face interviews and through an examination of school documents and minutes of meetings where inclusion was discussed. An ecological perspective of schools as systems that strive to be sustainable was used for evaluating the findings and implications of this study. It was found that the SATM did not manifest an ecological view of inclusion. SATM's views of inclusion were reactive rather than proactive. Though all SATM were basically pro-inclusion, they associated the failure to fully implement inclusion in schools to external factors--the Inclusion Act that had not fulfilled its intended goals and to the lack of governmental support. SATM failed to see the need for collaboration among role holders and the need for personal and shared responsibility for establishing an ecological setting of sustainable inclusion that is knowledge-based. In light of these atomistic rather than holistic views of inclusion, it is recommended that SATM dedicate time to collaboratively plan comprehensive ecologically sustainable models of inclusion for their schools, where practices are based on shared beliefs and continuous learning. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A