Turning Failure Into Success: How Principals Create Inclusive Schools for Students With Disabilities

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Developing Effective Schools and School Leaders

Abstract

This paper is a secondary analysis of a multiple case study of inclusive school leadership. This study highlights individual, team, and organizational failures associated with including students with disabilities and how school leaders learned from failures to improve their schools. We highlight how failures were identified, understood, and ultimately utilized to build organizational capacity to better serve all students. We conclude with recommendations for how school leaders can be better prepared to embrace failure as they develop inclusive schools and respond to the unique and fluid needs of students with disabilities.

Authors

• James C. Coviello, Saint John's University

• David Edward DeMatthews, The University of Texas at Austin