Exploring the intentions of school leaders towards implementing inclusive education in secondary schools in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Inclusive education is a useful policy for giving all persons access to education. However, the effectiveness of practice at the school level depends on the commitment of the educators to promote learning for all students. Although teachers are the actual implementers of inclusive education, school leaders are the main drivers of policy practices at all levels of education. Through Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has urged countries to extend universal access to education from primary to secondary schools. However, in the Ghanaian context, information on the intentions of school leaders toward implementing inclusive education in secondary schools is sparse. Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a framework, we interviewed 17 school leaders to understand their intentions toward the education of students with disabilities in secondary schools in Ghana. The participants were skeptical about the government’s commitment to provide them with the needed resources to enhance their practices. The study limitations, recommendations for future research, and the need for stakeholders’ engagement on contextual approaches to practice inclusion are discussed.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Maxwell Peprah Opoku

Maxwell Peprah Opoku is currently an Assistant Professor in Special Education at the United Arab Emirates University. Before Joining UAEU, he worked as casual academic, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania, Australia. He holds a PhD in Education from University of Tasmania, Australia. He also holds a first degree in Political studies from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. After serving a year as Teaching and Research Assistant, he enrolled in master’s degree in Disability, Rehabilitation and Development. Due to his passion for governance and leadership, he pursued a second master’s degree in Governance at Pan African University, Cameroon. Maxwell has a passion for research and his areas of interests are as follows: disability research, special education, cerebral palsy, autism, Down Syndrome, intellectual disability, mental health, Deaf research, visual impairment, professional development, inclusive leadership, rural education, teacher education, parenting, human development, gender and inclusive research, community-based rehabilitation, education and social justice, inclusive education, disability and behaviour management, classroom management, health research, human rights, social policies and public policy. He was published over 60 peer review journal articles, one book chapter, one edited book and presented papers at international conferences.