Tse, Rohnii;
(2024)
Inclusion of students with special educational needs:
Leadership values, dilemmas and their influence on
school practices.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Principals’ leadership has been documented as one of the most critical factors in bringing about school changes that move towards inclusive education. However, the way leadership influences inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) demands more investigation and theorising on this subject that is loaded with contentions. Conceptualising leadership as values-based, this study aims to problematize leadership impact on the operationalisation of inclusive education by examining the value tensions involved. I consider that the investigation of values reveals a deeper level of tension underlying inclusion practice. Moreover, I argue that the concept of a community of practice sheds light on how leadership influences the collaborative pursuit of inclusion in schools. This qualitative case study examines the dilemmas that confront principals and the values they employed in making leadership decisions to include or exclude students with SEN. Investigating inclusion practices in two mainstream kindergartens under the principals’ leadership offers an in-depth, contextualised understanding of inclusive education in the fully privatised preschool sector in Hong Kong. A total of 16 participants were interviewed, including the principal (2) of each school, supervisors (2), teachers (7) and support professionals for students with SEN (5). Observations and document analysis were also undertaken. The findings showed that school leaders encounter multi-tiered tensions and dilemmas at policy, school and personal levels. Inclusion is negotiated against the reality of enrolment challenges, staffing limitations, parent concerns and policy constraints, in a privatised sector where school survival is the first and foremost battle that principals need to address. When confronted by dilemmas, leaders use values as a compass to make decisions. The thesis exposes value tensions that are indicative of policy-to-practice and belief-to-practice discrepancies. The key finding is that pushing forward effective inclusion demands both policies and the beliefs of key actors be in line with inclusive education principles.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Inclusion of students with special educational needs: Leadership values, dilemmas and their influence on school practices |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Learning and Leadership |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10193832 |
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