Inclusion in New Zealand: The Potential and Possibilities of Sustainable Inclusive Change Through Utilising a Framework for Whole School Development

This paper reports on the findings of a yearlong qualitative research project into school change and inclusion. The whole school framework known as the Index for Inclusion was utilised in an Aotearoa New Zealand high school. Findings showed the Index to be a flexible tool and suitable for achieving sustainable whole school development and professional learning. Additionally, Inclusive change involves a renegotiation of meaning. This renegotiation takes time, perseverance, and at times involves pain. Inclusion is linked to culture; it is a reflection of time and place. Inclusion can be developed within a school culture through reflecting on core values and through aligning those values with practice and artefact. In a devolved education system such as in Aotearoa New Zealand individual expressions of school culture and school leadership become strong influencing factors in the development of inclusion.