Award Date

1-1-2002

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Committee Member

Patti L. Chance

Number of Pages

170

Abstract

Court cases and federal mandates are telling schools to move toward including students with disabilities into the general education setting. This has created an increased hardship for school site administrators as they take on the burden of preparing their schools for a conducive learning environment for all of the students at their schools; This case study was designed to gather data about the practices of the high school principal in the implementation of inclusion. The principal's role in the change process was analyzed through classroom observations, document analysis, and interviews with various staff members; The study included one high school in a Western state to gather information that assessed the practices of the administrator in implementing inclusion. The Western States have been affected by federal mandates from the Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1997, and the court case between Rachael Holland and the Sacramento City School District that established the precedent for inclusion within the Ninth Circuit legal system to which the Western states are bound. This move toward inclusion increased the pressures of principals to be creative in how they deal with curriculum issues, personnel training, and staff development for inclusion; With three different principals, with three separate styles of leadership, the inclusion program was created, maintained, and altered through the different eras of the administrators. The first principal had the direction to get the inclusion program working and the support of his teachers to keep it running. The second principal had a negative impact on the overall school climate, yet chose not to become directly involved. This lack of involvement resulted in a stable program primarily due to the supportive staff members who maintained the integrity of the program. The third principal worked to improve the climate of the school, yet losing the confidence of some of his staff for neglecting to inform them of his intentions for inclusion and altering way inclusion had been done for ten years; The three principals had different styles of leadership and how they implemented change. These changes were sometimes positive and sometimes negative. One principal was intentional in his process to create change, the second created change simply by forcing teachers to comply with district mandates, and the third created change by trying to improve other areas, but neglecting inclusion. The practices of each principal were traced over a ten-year time period that explained one school's story on how inclusion was implemented.

Keywords

Change Agents; Implementing; Inclusion; Practices; Principals; School

Controlled Subject

School management and organization; Special education

File Format

pdf

File Size

3778.56 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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Rights

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