Intermediate inverted leadership: the inclusive leader’s model

ABSTRACT

The marginalization of pupils characterized as having special educational needs (SEN) is a phenomenon that persists despite the international intense efforts to avoid it. The school headmaster and the leadership model which he/she follows are key factors that could contribute to the creation of an inclusive school environment. The mixed methodology action research (MMAR) was used in an attempt to invent an innovative leadership model to make education more inclusive for pupils characterized as having SEN within a mainstream secondary school in Cyprus. The preliminary data for this research were gathered using a mixed methodology approach. Action research was then carried out in a mainstream secondary school in Cyprus with a total of 80 participants, applying the proposed method to implement the innovative ‘Intermediate inverted Leadership Model’. The study was then examined and critically evaluated through MMAR the extent to which the proposed leadership model enhanced inclusive education. The results showed that the innovative leadership model can contribute to inclusive education, by identifying the factors that lead to marginalization in order to convert them into factors that contribute in promoting inclusion.

Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants in the research who took part in the survey allowing us to study their everyday lives, thereby helping to identify proposals for improving the leader’ s role in the inclusion of children with disabilities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Constantia A. Charalampous

Constantia A. Charalampous Constantia Charalampous teaches greek language in public secondary schools since 2008. She is also a PHD candidate in Neapolis University Pafos. She received her bachelor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. On 2007 she competed her Master’s degree of Leadership and Management at the Open University UK. She continued her studies at University of Nicosia, receiving her Master’s degree of Special Education on 2009.

Christos D. Papademetriou

Christos D. Papademetriou Dr. Christos Papademetriou teaches at the University of Neapolis in Pafos since 2010. He obtained a ΒΑ (Hons) in Accounting and Business (2001) and MA in International Management (2002) from the University of Sunderland and a BSc (Hons) in Computing from the University of Portsmouth. He holds a doctorate (PhD) in Social Science from the University of Leicester, UK.