Conclusion
In this course you have explored what is meant by Inclusive leadership and its theoretical underpinnings. There has been discussion of people’s experiences on being led and models of the behaviours associated with inclusive leadership. We have considered the importance of the leader’s mindset to this process and the challenges and practicalities of developing this mindset and encouraging it in others. You have been asked to reflect upon the political nature of schools and the change process and to recognise that the only way through this for inclusive leaders is to seek collaboration and support. An evident message has been: if we wish to have inclusive systems we have to demonstrate inclusive practices.
As one of the teachers said in the study from Thailand (Agbenyega & Klibthong, 2022):
‘If you are a leader it means you are there to support those who support your work, leaders can’t do it alone and teachers can’t do it alone. We need each other to make things work well.’ (p. 10)
If you haven’t already, you might want to consider exploring the related OpenLearn courses after completing this course:
- Inclusive Leadership: Collaborating for professional development [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
- Leadership for inclusion: thinking it through
- Leadership for inclusion: what can you do?
You might also be interested in the Open University Inclusive Practice Leadership and Management Masters pathways.