School principals' leadership styles on implementing inclusive education: the entrepreneurial leadership effect

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate school principals' leadership styles in Cyprus in relation to students' support for special education needs within the context of inclusive education.

Design/methodology/approach

The original type of evidence was qualitative empirical research through the examination of four case studies in school organizations with a high number of students with special education needs. Using the interview protocol, data on school principals' leadership styles were collected from school principals and teachers. The empirical development theory method was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The findings suggest that in the respective school organizations, a combination of all leadership styles can support the desired outcomes of students with special education needs, thereby promoting the inclusive education aspect in school organizations. However, there was a preference for the entrepreneurial leadership style, which connects the external leadership dimension with school principalship.

Originality/value

These findings could assist in shaping a specific educational policy that includes professional development for school principals in entrepreneurship in order to support students with special education needs. Furthermore, the results could be compared to those in other contexts where school principals' leadership styles and practices are promoted in relation to the support of students with special education needs.

Citation

Stavrou, E. and Kafa, A. (2024), "School principals' leadership styles on implementing inclusive education: the entrepreneurial leadership effect", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 40-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-08-2023-0424