Innovations in Inclusive Education to support the upcoming Inspection Framework

A recent article in the Journal of Educational Administration speaks about Principals' perspectives of inclusive education. Asking the question: “how can we develop and embed a true ethos of inclusivity that is no longer a task, separate to the mechanics of the educational machine, but rather, an integrated feature that flows like the life blood of academics and learning.”

The paper found that “certain structures are needed when planning how to develop mutual values when organising an inclusive school”.

It addresses the need to engage and encourage all stakeholders to commit and carry out the necessary changes to consecrate an inclusive repertoire in the school. These insights are particularly pertinent in the Emirates now as we continue to build on the solid foundation of the past 5 years of development in inclusion.

It was found that an integral ingredient of building inclusivity is building concrete, lasting change in key stakeholders of the organisation or school. This, it found, could be achieved by building, driving and maintaining stakeholder buy - in. At Inlcuzun we consistently seek to engage organisations, schools and research facilities to seek out what is working and what is not in the UAE landscape which informs our training and support for school improvement and inspection prep. Continuous feedback drives constant innovation and development.

John Kotter, Harvard professor and change management expert, created a theory of change management focused primarily on the people involved in the organisation and their psychology. With schools being such complex structures, a focus on people is paramount. Kotter’s change management theory involves 8 steps to creating meaningful and long-lasting change in any organisation, namely:

1.    Create a sense of urgency to motivate people

2.    Build your change team with leaders and change agents of various skills and departments

3.    Define your strategic vision for what you want to accomplish

4.    Communicate with everyone involved in the change management process to get them on board and make sure they know their role

5.    Identify roadblocks and address anything causing friction

6.    Create short-term goals to break your change management plan into achievable steps

7.    Keep up the momentum throughout the process of implementation

8.    Maintain the changes after the initial project is complete

By implementing a structured approach, one that is people focused (like Kotters) it was found that all stakeholders were strategically engaged at every level and inclusive practice was greatly improved.

This engagement effect is reflected further in a case study of change management in the NHS (National Health System, UK) (Bamfod & Daniel, 2007) where Kotter’s model proved effective in building a shared ethos and core value system. This was initially driven top down but became embedded and practiced from the bottom up.

Research suggests that schools, like many complex organisations, need both top down and bottom up support in driving change.

As da Vinci said- “we need to learn how to see that everything connects to everything else”.

In April 2020 an article in the Journal of Inclusive Education delved into the bottom-up drive of inclusive education. Focusing on how instructional leadership affected teachers ability to operate in a fully inclusive manner.

This research focused on developing an isolated single practice or tool which has ripple effects to drive momentum for changes in inclusive practice. In this paper, principals took the Individual Education Plan IEP as a tool to lever changes around inclusion.

Using a targeted approach, they engaged all stakeholders and upskilled the whole staff, external practitioners and parents around the effective use of this single tool. This approach was found to have a significant impact on perceptions of inclusive practice and ultimately on student participation and success in class. The Kellogg school of change management adds clear steps to achieving success through this type of focused project, namely;

●    Begin by assessing the alignment between the school’s strategy and structure to  motivate for change.

●    Evaluate whether the school’s social networks (including all stakeholders) are fostering execution and innovation of this focused change.

●    Balance different organisational structures and allow for both execution and innovation.

●    As the project unfolds, iterations and developments may call for slight adjustments and calibration.

●    Constantly implement tactics to increase strategic agility and estimate any resilience encountered.

●    Assess each speed bump as it arises and address them incrementally.

●    Gradually build sustainable change. So how can we take all of this research and convert it into something meaningful and useful for a school?

So how can we take all of this research and convert it into something meaningful and useful for a school?