School leadership for inclusive education: theoretically relevant dimensions for its development

In recent years, inclusive leadership has become established as a theoretically relevant approach for schools committed to equity, social justice and diversity. However, there is less theoretical background on its practices compared to other leadership approaches. The aim of this paper is to concept...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Valdés Morales, René, Gómez Hurtado, Inmaculada, Coronel Llamas, José Manuel, Améstica, José Manuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Huelva (UHU)
Repositorio:Arias Montano. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:ariasmontano::880619fd8ebf6971a2102306cb5e366e
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28170
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Inclusive education
School leadership
Leadership practice
Educational theory
Diversity
58 Pedagogía
Descripción
Sumario:In recent years, inclusive leadership has become established as a theoretically relevant approach for schools committed to equity, social justice and diversity. However, there is less theoretical background on its practices compared to other leadership approaches. The aim of this paper is to conceptualise inclusive school leadership from a critical and socially grounded perspective by proposing five theoretically relevant dimensions of practice that support the development and enactment of inclusion in schools. These dimensions are as follows: (1) management of pedagogical processes to cater for diversity; (2) development of an inclusive school culture; (3) promotion of whole school participation; (4) professional development of the whole school community; and (5) interpersonal resources for inclusion. For each dimension, a set of practices, narratives, competencies, and evidence that support their development and enactment in school contexts are presented. The conclusion is that inclusive leadership is grounded in social justice, critical reflection and contextualisation. This approach is indispensable to overcome the limitations imposed by traditional structures and standardised solutions that can hinder true inclusion in school contexts.