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Building Inclusive Education Workforce Capability: School Principals’ Perceptions of Roles and Responsibilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2021

Jill Duncan Open the ORCID record for Jill Duncan [Opens in a new window]  and
Renee Punch
Jill Duncan*
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle, Australia
Renee Punch
Affiliation:
Southern Cross University, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: jill.duncan@newcastle.edu.au
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Abstract

Inclusive education workforce capability is the ability of the education workforce to meet individual student learning needs, regardless of educational context. In this study, we investigated the perceptions of 12 principals in Australian education settings on their views about roles and responsibilities related to the workforce’s preparedness for inclusive education. We used thematic analysis to identify 9 major themes and 3 subthemes across the 3 roles about which participants were asked: the principal’s role, the system’s role, and the teacher registration boards’ role. The findings indicated a number of areas of concern for these principals about ensuring the capability of the education workforce in the context of extensive student diversity. In summary, results indicated that principals, systems, and teacher registration boards each have a role in building inclusive education workforce capability, with a coordinated effort more likely to bring Australia closer to its pledge of inclusive education for all students.

Keywords

inclusive educationprincipalworkforceteacherdiversity
Type
Original Articles
Information
Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , July 2021 , pp. 62 - 75
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

†

This manuscript was accepted under the Editorship of Umesh Sharma.

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