Reporting on Research conducted in three different countries - Australia, Canada and Colombia

1. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Leading and Leveraging Change
to
Create an Inclusive School
International Congress for School Effectiveness
and Improvement Conference
January 2019
Paper Presented by members of the
Leadership Research International (LRI) team
University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Professor Lindy-Anne Abawi
Dr. Cheryl Bauman
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Research Project Overview
Two Research Projects Into
Inclusive School Practices
Three
Australian
Schools
Two Junior Schools
One Secondary School
Participants: Curriculum Coordinator, Support Teacher,
Behavior Coach, Head of Special Education, 2 Regular
Classroom Teachers, 1 Principal, 1 Deputy Principal
Canadian &
Columbian
Schools
One Canadian Junior School
Participants: Special Education Teacher, ELL Teacher,
Regular Classroom Teacher, Principal, Vice-Principal
One Columbian Comprehensive School
Participants: Coordinator of Pedagogical Support,
Psychologist, Assistant to Psychologist, ICT Teacher
(support for language and math), Chemistry Teacher,
Principal
Project
Highlight
A number of significant leadership attributes
shared across diverse contexts.

3. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Discussant
What leadership characteristics stand out
as being integral to the creation of an
inclusive school culture extending
throughout the school and beyond?
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4. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Schein’s Organizational Culture
as Research Design
Abawi, Carter, Andrews & Conway (2018). Inclusive Schoolwide Pedagogical Principles:
Cultural Indicators in Action p. 40
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Schein’s Framework for
Leading Cultural Change
• Schein (2016) compares organizational culture to a
lily pond.
• Often what people see on the surface is what they
want to change and think is what needs changing.
• However, in order to change, people must recognize
the levels of culture within an organization.
• Some levels of culture are underneath/unseen, as is
the root system found in a lily pond.
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Schein’s Three Concept Levels
of Organizational Culture
• Level of Artifacts
Visible organizational structures
and processes – hard to decipher
• Level of Espoused Beliefs and Values
Not visible - strategies, goals, philosophies –
espoused justifications
• Level of Underlying Assumptions
Not visible – unconscious, taken-for-granted
Beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings…
ultimate source of values and action
(Schein, 2016, p. 26).
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7. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Evidence of
Inclusive School Cultures
What was seen and heard from the lived experiences of the community members who contributed to a
series of short ‘lived experience narratives’?
Reflecting on Schein’s (2016) Three Concept Levels of Organizational Culture:
•Artefacts – Visible Level:
– Vision Statements
– Leadership Practices That Empowered Others
– School-wide Approach to Teaching and Learning (Schoolwide Pedagogy – Crowther, Andrews & Conway, 2013)
– Language of Inclusivity
– Schools’ Website Messages
– Positive Displays of Encouragement
– Observable School Celebrations Honouring and Inclusive of All Students
•Espoused Beliefs and Values:
– Inclusivity Ideology
– Promotion of Community Acceptance
– Staff Articulated the Beliefs and Values with Regards to Inclusivity and Individualized Support
•Basic Underlying Assumptions – Unseen Level:
– Inclusion Was Not Optional
– Inclusion Was What the Staff Believed In and How They Behaved
– Inclusion Was the Consensual Reality, Their Way of Being
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8. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Principal quote Australia:
Inclusion is what we are about. It’s a moral commitment I
have to my community and students. It’s also my
commitment to staff – that they feel competent and capable
to address student needs. My role is to be out and about in
my school, talking, observing, acting – not sitting behind a
desk doing paperwork. Of course I do that too... We explore,
we get data, we plan, we receive feedback…we can continue
to improve our students’ experiences and outcomes…
Lived Experiences of Leading an
Inclusive School Culture
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Principal quote Canada:
My role is to engage staff in inclusive education. Inclusive
education requires shared commitment and leadership to
tackle very complex issues found within the school
community…It is a mindset of some staff that withdrawal is
still better, so creating an inclusive school has taken time,
and it is still on-going. Some staff need to ‘shift’ their
thinking and ideals…
Lived Experiences of Leading an
Inclusive School Culture
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Principal quote Colombia:
The principal must be convinced of inclusion, believe that
all children should have possibilities to learn. We, as
principals, must be convinced, trust, and believe in this
project. We work keeping our nose to grindstone, making
curricular adaptations, helping with flexibility and the
creation of strategies. I must be a pedagogical leader and
obviously an administrative and organizational leader…
available for all…I must be willing to guide all personnel
because we must understand...
Lived Experiences of Leading an
Inclusive School Culture
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A Synergy of Themes Supporting the
Journey to Inclusive School Practice
Australia Canada Columbia
Strong inclusive vision
and direction
On-going
commitment to
inclusive education
Reinforcing the belief
that inclusion is
possible
Distributed leadership
practice
Distributive/shared
leadership practice
Strong leader who
builds capacity in
others
School-wide
pedagogy guides
teacher practice
School-wide approach
to Universal Design
for Learning
Curricular flexibility
and collective effort
An adaptable student
centered community
Student centered
practice and decision
making
Natural and voluntary
student-centered
school community
environment
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A Model of Contextualized Social Justice Leadership
for Embedding Inclusive Practices and Structures
(Carter & Abawi, 2018)
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13. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Principal: Visionary and a
Leading Role Model for Inclusion
In all Three Contexts the Principals:
• Nurtured shared and distributive leadership
• Encouraged all teachers to help build and improve upon
a culture of inclusivity
• Fostered shared norms and assumptions regarding
inclusive practices
• Advanced shared norms and
assumptions about social
justice and moral leadership
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14. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Moral Leadership
Moral Leadership differs from other
leadership styles as it focuses quite
specifically on the human aspect of
leadership.
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15. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Leveraging Moral Leadership is:
• Leading with conviction:
• Align to a vision
• Act in accordance to beliefs and values
• When making decisions do what is right not what is convenient
• Leading with uncompromising steadfastness from:
• The front
• Beside
• Behind
• Leading with intentionality:
• Language used
• Inclusive practices/structures/beliefs
• Relationships built on trust
• Leading with reciprocity:
• Share knowledge and information
• Create caring, inclusive cultures
• Include all stakeholder relationships
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Leveraging Shared Action
as a Moral Leader
• Maintaining a moral purpose
• Standing on a strength-based platform
• Involving the entire school community
• Going beyond the school gates/school
community
• Utilizing all key resources/stakeholders
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17. CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081
Key Message Resonating
Across All Contexts
“All children want to and can learn
when provided with the right support”
(Abawi, Bauman-Buffone, Pineda-Baez, & Carter, p. 14).
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References &
Key Publications
Abawi, L. (2013). School meaning systems: The symbiotic nature of culture and 'language-in-use'.
Improving Schools, 16(2), 89-106.
Abawi, L., Bauman-Buffone, C., Pineda-Baez, C., & Carter S. (2018). The rhetoric and reality of leading
the inclusive school: Socio-cultural reflections on lived experiences. Education Sciences, 8(55), 1-17.
doi:10.3390/edusci8020055
Abawi, L., & Carter, S. (2018). Leadership, inclusion, and quality education for all. Australasian Journal
of Special and Inclusive Education, 1-16. doi: 10.1017/jsi.2018.5
Abawi, L., Carter, S., Andrews, D., & Conway J. (2018). Inclusive schoolwide pedagogical principles:
Cultural indicators in action. In New pedagogical challenges in the 21st Century. doi:
10.5772/intechopen.70358
Battle-Scarred Warrior [image]. Retrieved 28 November 2015 from: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.
com/originals/ 54/8a/39/548a39b41fed415c71a83b967b95a8d2.jpg
Bauman, C. (2014). An exploration of the interconnectedness between elementary teacher job
satisfaction, school culture and student achievement: A study in two Canadian elementary schools.
(Doctoral thesis), University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia.
Bauman, C. (2015). A refreshing perspective on teacher leadership: How teacher leaders effectively
combine the use of autonomy and collaboration to enhance school improvement. Leading &
Managing, 21(2), 46-59.
Crowther, F., Andrews, D., & Conway, J. M. (2013). Schoolwide Pedagogy: Vibrant new meaning for
teachers and principals. Lessons from a successful school system. Moorabbin, Victoria: Hawker
Brownlow Education.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images of organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Schein, E.H. (2016). Organizational culture and leadership (5th
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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