6 Summary

In this unit you have learnt how to promote inclusion by addressing diversity and differences among students in a practical manner so that each student is provided with equitable educational opportunities and participates in learning in your school. This is no doubt a huge task to be done in addressing the inequalities experienced by many students in their everyday lives. But in schools there is the real opportunity to start moving towards equality and bringing about change in their lives by promoting an inclusive approach to learning, shared by the whole staff team and observed by the students who can learn to respect and value their peers.

It is you as the school leader who can do a great deal, as you are uniquely placed to influence and bring about the required change in the lives of many hundreds of students so that they make the most of their abilities and achieve their full potential. This requires courage, critical analysis, ambition and honest evaluations. If the steps seem to be too large, start small and build a school with a reputation for fairness and equality that you can be proud of. Keep your end goal in mind – that you want to create a school where the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 29) hold true and your school community can be proud to:

• develop every student’s personality, talents and abilities to the full
• encourage every student’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their own and other cultures.

This unit is part of the set or family of units that relate to the key area of transforming teaching-learning process (aligned to the National College of School Leadership). You may find it useful to look next at other units in this set to build your knowledge and skills:

• Leading improvements in teaching and learning in the elementary school
• Leading improvements in teaching and learning in the secondary school
• Leading assessment in your school
• Supporting teachers to raise performance
• Leading teachers’ professional development
• Mentoring and coaching
• Developing an effective learning culture in your school
• Managing resources for effective student learning
• Leading the use of technology in your school.