Leadership for inclusion: Education policy to school practice

Abstract

Over the past fifteen years there has been a systemic move towards inclusion globallY and Australia has been no exception. Each of the educational jurisdictions in Australia has identified inclusion as the prevailing philosophy under which education for students with disabilities is provided (Forfin & Bamford, 2005). Whilst difficult to define (Graham & Slee, 2008), for the purposes of this study inclusion is understood as being the full participation of all students in all aspects of schooling' (Loreman, Deppeler & Harvey, p. 2). A wider study (Anderson, 2010), of which the current study presents one aspect, investigated the inclusive practices of a Queensland government primary school through the lens of the System's inclusion policy. A case study approach was employed to better understand the successes and difficulties experienced bY the school in meeting expectation for inclusion. The aim of this study is to better understand the relationship between school leadership and the provision of inclusion, In that context, the questions guiding the discussion in this paper were designed to investigate how leadership for inclusion was (and still is) managed within Education Queensland policy and to what degree this is reflected in whole school and individual classroom practice. Results are described in light of how Education Queensland policy on leadership and inclusion was reflected in school-wide and classroom practice.