Diversity, Educational Leadership and Inclusion

Conclusion

This book explores leadership, diversity and inclusion in diverse school contexts. In particular, it looks at how administrators promote, or can promote, inclusion in their school communities. The position that I take in the book is that inclusion is desirable and that all administrators should work towards this end. I support inclusive practice because I believe that it is consistent with principles of social justice. Beyond that, inclusion stands a better chance than other approaches of alleviating the unfair barriers and difficulties that “minority” students face in school and elsewhere. The book revolves around an empirical study that examines the efforts of administrators in understanding and meeting the challenges of diversity. This study revealed that many administrators understand and respond to diversity in ways that were consistent with inclusion. It also indicated, however, that some administrators did not promote inclusive practice. Two significant impediments to inclusive leadership revolved around administrators’ lack of knowledge of their diverse school communities and of the processes associated with diversity, like racism. This book documents the nature of these challenges and the strategies that should be taken to address them.