Inclusive Leadership: Preparing Principals for the Role that Awaits Them.

Abstract: Preparing administrators with the capacity to improve instruction for all learners is critical for recruiting and retaining special education teachers. However, recent research points out the need to improve skills of current and future administrators for this role. To address these concerns the special education and administrator preparation programs at a western university designed and conducted research to determine how well preservice principals were being prepared to improve instruction for all learners. To determine program improvement and training needs, researchers collected focus group and survey data from current and alumni students from both programs. Findings of this research are organized into recommendations for program improvement. Introduction One of the most important challenges in education is to create and nurture inclusive environments that support learning for all students. The degree to which students can be well educated is directly correlated to a system of personnel preparation that results in a qualified work force so that every student has highly skilled and competent teachers and administrators. In an effort to increase student achievement in classrooms, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB) requires that all students be taught by highly qualified teachers. Every administrator appreciates how teacher quality and quantity directly link to student learning results. However, many students receiving special education services do not have access to highly skilled or competent special education teachers due to the critical shortage of fully licensed special educators (Boe & Cook, 2006). Findings, in a report conducted by the Presidential Commission on the Conditions of Special Education and authorized by the Council for Exceptional Children (2001), indicated that the most pressing issues facing educators and special education systems include ambiguous and competing responsibilities; overwhelming paperwork; inadequate district and administrative support; significant teacher isolation; insufficient focus on improved student outcomes; increased demand for well-qualified special educators; poorly prepared general and special educators; and fragmented licensing systems. York-Barr, Sommerness, Duke, and Ghere (2005) accurately describe the problem and predict "that an emerging crisis in special education, if unresolved, will result in diminished quality of services and education outcomes for children" (p. 194). Further compounding this problem, the lack of special preparation for school principals challenges their ability to meaningfully serve all students (Garrison-Wade, 2005; Goor, Schwenn, & Boyer, 1997). Administrators report being ill-prepared for the job and cite difficulties with role clarification and job specialization (Ashby & Maki, l996; GarrisonWade, 2005). In the role of instructional leaders, principals need requisite knowledge in assessing the impact of disabilities on student performance, monitoring referral-to-placement procedures, providing various service delivery models, and facilitating student support teams (Garrison-Wade, 2005). Aims to create inclusive environments for all learners more easily can be realized through strong, inclusive leadership practices from school administrators. While every teacher must be prepared for the vast diversity of today's student population, principals face additional challenges leading special education initiatives. Sindelar, Shearer, Yendol-Hoppey, and Liebert (2006) maintained that the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education is a complex and demanding reform. Given that complexity, inclusion is often misunderstood and sometimes resisted by teachers and not fully understood or supported by school administrators. Since 1990, considerable attention has been paid to the identification of the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that enable all teachers to embrace and successfully implement inclusive educational practices (Ryndak, Jackson, & Billingsley, 1999- 2000). …