‘Much ado about something’ how school leaders affect attitudes towards inclusive education: the case of Oman

ABSTRACT

The development of inclusive education (IE) is arguably the biggest challenge currently facing school systems in Oman. School leadership (SL) was argued to be a determinant of organisational effectiveness and an antecedent of organisational commitment (OC). The current study investigated how SL affects teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education (TATIE). A total of 378 teachers from both genders responded to the Principal Leadership Style (PLS), Scale of Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Classrooms (STATIC), and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). Using structural modeling, we tested a set of hypotheses drawn from a conceptualised model which we developed from previous research evidence. Results supported our conceptualised model. OC was found to mediate the relationship between PLS and TATIE. Further, different PLSs showed different indirect effects on TATIE through OC. Results are discussed in relation to the context of Oman.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive education
• educational leadership
• assessment
• Oman

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Yasser F.H. Al-Mahdy, an assistant professor of educational administration at Ain Shams University, Egypt, and Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. He obtained PhD from the University of Ain Shams, Egypt. He was part of educational planning and administration initiatives in both Egypt and Oman.

Dr Mahmoud Mohamed Emam, an associate professor of special-inclusive education at Sultan Qaboos University. He obtained PhD from the University of Manchester, Two masters from Assiut University, Egypt, and the University of London, the UK. He attained two Fulbright scholarships at University of Kansas and University of Florida. Published articles in international, regional, and national journals.

ORCID

Yasser F. H. Al-Mahdy http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0912-4459

Mahmoud Mohamed Emam http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4451-9237