School leadership for inclusive education: theoretically relevant dimensions for its development

Abstract

In recent years, inclusive leadership has become established as a theoretically relevant approach for schools committed to equity, social justice and diversity. However, there is less theoretical background on its practices compared to other leadership approaches. The aim of this paper is to conceptualise inclusive school leadership from a critical and socially grounded perspective by proposing five theoretically relevant dimensions of practice that support the development and enactment of inclusion in schools. These dimensions are as follows: (1) management of pedagogical processes to cater for diversity; (2) development of an inclusive school culture; (3) promotion of whole school participation; (4) professional development of the whole school community; and (5) interpersonal resources for inclusion. For each dimension, a set of practices, narratives, competencies, and evidence that support their development and enactment in school contexts are presented. The conclusion is that inclusive leadership is grounded in social justice, critical reflection and contextualisation. This approach is indispensable to overcome the limitations imposed by traditional structures and standardised solutions that can hinder true inclusion in school contexts.