Leading inclusion: stories of success from school management teams in the Maldives

Leadership plays a decisive role in the implementation of inclusive education at the school level. In this paper, we report on a small-scale, qualitative study which explored how the beliefs and actions of leadership teams at two mainstream schools in the Maldives influenced their efforts to provide a shared vision for inclusion and a positive culture across their school community. School selection was based on purposive sampling, with both schools being recognised for their good inclusive practice. Semi-structured interviews with the six leaders (the principal, deputy principal, and the leading teacher at each school) were used to capture personal beliefs, shared understandings and daily actions that promoted inclusion at the respective schools. Data analysis revealed two major themes: Access for learning and Building collaboration and partnerships through supportive leadership. While a sense of duty, strong desire and personal drive were common threads running across individual perspectives and themes, leaders signalled that a lack of resourcing (human and material) was a major obstacle to the successful implementation of inclusive education in their country.