Building Capacity for All: Fostering School Sense-Making Processes Within a National Inclusion and Integration Reform

• In Event: Organizational Theory: Promise, Practice, and Policy

Abstract

COVID-19 crisis provides district and school leaders opportunities to build school capacity for all. This qualitative study explored how district and school leaders vary in their inclusive practices and school sense-making processes during times of crisis. Data were collected through a heterogenic sampling via 22 Zoom interviews with district and school leaders. Findings indicate three major themes: (1) Developing a shared vision and setting direction; (2) Building school capacity for inclusion: (a) nurturing a culture of collective responsibility (b) maintaining mental-resilience skills and well-being; and (3) Fostering school collaboration and trust with stakeholders. A national inclusion and integration reform initiation calls for a school sense-making process through which crisis leadership navigates uncertainty and shapes distributed practices.

Authors

• Sherry Ganon Shilon, Achva Academic College

• Idit Finkelstein, Ono Academic College

• Revital Sela-Shayovitz, Ono Academic College

• Chen Schechter, Bar-Ilan University