Leadership as a lever for inclusive education in Flanders: A multiple case study using qualitative comparative analysis

Belgium ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, which implies that an inclusive education (IE) system at all levels should be realized. Consequently, recent legislation in Flanders (Belgium) aims to reduce the current segregated school system, which has caused some resistance from practitioners. This study examines the way in which leadership that promotes IE can reduce this resistance. Leadership is defined in terms of the dimensions put forward by Robinson and Timperley (2007): (a) providing educational direction; (b) ensuring strategic alignment; (c) creating a community that learns how to improve student success; (d) engaging in constructive problem talk; and (e) selecting and developing smart tools that facilitate IE. Based on case study research in 20 schools (10 primary, 10 secondary), a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis was conducted to identify (combinations of) leadership dimensions associated with the willingness of school team members to include students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. The results reveal that schools in which leaders provide educational direction towards a more inclusive school system, and that engage in constructive problem talk and select and develop smart tools in support of IE, are more willing to include students with SEN.