ERIC Number: EJ1347691
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1741-1432
EISSN: EISSN-1741-1440
Available Date: N/A
Leadership as a Lever for Inclusive Education in Flanders: A Multiple Case Study Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Van Mieghem, Aster; Verschueren, Karine; Donche, Vincent; Struyf, Elke
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, v50 n5 p871-888 Sep 2022
Belgium ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, which implies that an inclusive education (IE) system at all levels should be realized. Consequently, recent legislation in Flanders (Belgium) aims to reduce the current segregated school system, which has caused some resistance from practitioners. This study examines the way in which leadership that promotes IE can reduce this resistance. Leadership is defined in terms of the dimensions put forward by Robinson and Timperley (2007): (a) providing educational direction; (b) ensuring strategic alignment; (c) creating a community that learns how to improve student success; (d) engaging in constructive problem talk; and (e) selecting and developing smart tools that facilitate IE. Based on case study research in 20 schools (10 primary, 10 secondary), a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis was conducted to identify (combinations of) leadership dimensions associated with the willingness of school team members to include students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. The results reveal that schools in which leaders provide educational direction towards a more inclusive school system, and that engage in constructive problem talk and select and develop smart tools in support of IE, are more willing to include students with SEN.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Students with Disabilities, Equal Education, Inclusion, Educational Legislation, Leadership Responsibility, Resistance to Change, Teacher Attitudes, Intervention, Elementary Secondary Education, Discussion, Educational Technology, School Counselors, Counselor Attitudes, Leadership Styles, Student Needs, Educational Environment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Belgium
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A