Unpacking System-Level Conditions for Sustained Reform in Catholic Schools

• In Event: Building Capacity and Coherence for Instructional Improvement and Systemwide Reform

Abstract

Despite shared values, schools within the same administration vary in how they enact and sustain inclusive education for students with disabilities. This mixed-methods, multiple-case study investigates 3–4 high-implementing schools to identify organizational conditions and leadership practices that enable sustainable inclusion. Guided by the social model of disability, systems thinking, and organizational learning theory, the study uses realist evaluation and street data methods. Data sources include interviews, focus groups, documents, and climate surveys. Findings will inform system-level inclusive reform by tracing how select Catholic schools build inclusive capacity—highlighting what works, for whom, under what conditions, and why. Insights aim to support inclusive excellence across educational systems.

Author

• Aashna Khurana, Boston College