Leadership Skills Needed by Principals for Inclusive Schools - Essay Example

The need for competent special education teachers is one of the most urgent issues that administrators must deal with. On top of that, special education teachers must also be supported by sound leadership from administrators so that they can be retained. Yet, recent studies indicate that existing school administrators lack certain knowledge, skills, as well as beliefs, and attitudes that make them fulfill their roles well. Briefly, many school administrators are ill-equipped to manage learning systems that include special education learners. This concern was addressed through qualitative and quantitative research by students from a Western university. The research identified leadership skills that school administrators need to manage an inclusive school setting. The recommendations and findings of the research support the literature presented by the researchers and yield valuable insights for program recommendations.

Running head: LEADERSHIP SKILLS NEEDED BY PRINCIPALS FOR INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS

Article Critique on “Inclusive Leadership: Preparing Principals for the Role that Awaits Them”

The article emphasizes the need for school leaders to equip themselves with knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs to enhance their leadership skills that would eventually create an effective school program aimed at recruiting and maintaining competent special education teachers. Furthermore, educators must be responsive to the diverse needs of an inclusive school set-up which can only be accomplished by upgrading one’s self.  The research combined quantitative and qualitative methods to acquire triangulation that would enhance the validity and reliability of the result. Researchers also employed the assistance of three independent researchers to conduct face validity of the quantitative instruments used. Although the methods are good, the researchers could have utilized more quantitative methods.

The evidence was strong as confirmed by the results of the research. For example, one of the results showing the challenges faced by school administrators is a “lack of ability to generate solutions and options in resource mgt.”. At the beginning of the research, this was one of the issues raised by the Council for Exceptional Children presented as “overwhelming paperwork” which is a roadblock towards the effective management of inclusion schools. There are other similar issues that the researchers raised at the beginning of the article which were later validated by the research. The article can be a good platform for other researchers to pursue studies in order to concretely and comprehensively cover more challenges in educational leadership dealing with special education administration.

There are two more additional pieces of literature that can further establish the need for school administrators to develop themselves in terms of leadership skills when handling inclusion schools. One of this research is a peer-reviewed article by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) concluded that “principal preparation programs showed a lack of emphasis on special education in principal preparation” ( Palladino, et.al, 2008). Likewise, the study made by Alexander and Hibbler ( 1997) among school administrators also cited that during that time, school administrators already anticipated that Special education inclusions would be a pressing issue after a few more years. The question is: How did the local school boards prepare the system and school leaders to handle such issues? Indeed, the preparation was not enough as the educational system was pulled in a different direction by some other issues.

Apparently, the article is just a reinforcement to urge educators and school leaders to address pressing concerns about inclusion, however, this is easier said than done especially when the need for competent teachers and good school leaders was yesterday’s problem. If the issues were not complex, then a decade or so could have fully-equipped school administrators today. The suggestions and recommendations to evaluate and modify the principal preparation program but the government must quicken its pace in doing so. Educational administrators, special education teachers, and undergraduate students would highly benefit from reading this article.