A Perfect Storm for Leading Equity and Inclusion - Policy Complexities, Varied Learning Needs, and Cultures that Don’t Support Them

Oct 15, 2026

The case follows an experienced principal’s arrival at a new school as he tries to ensure every student can access education, especially those needing accommodations or assistive technology. The school’s culture is segmented, teachers across career stages rarely collaborate, and classroom technology use varies regardless of student need. Communication and competency challenges surface, and parents are concerned, forcing the principal to balance stakeholders while pursuing an equitable and inclusive vision through three structured activities and readings.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Case Narrative

Policy, structure, and agency activities

Professional development planning

A Perfect Storm for Leading Equity and Inclusion: Policy Complexities, Varied Learning Needs, and Cultures that Don’t Support Them Catherine Handsa & Kevin Freckeltonb aBrock University, bToronto District School Board Abstract The case describes an experienced principal’s arrival at a new school, his observations of the school and its teachers, and his experiences as he attempts to ensure all students have access to education, particularly those requiring accommodations or assistive technology. The culture of the school is compartmentalized; early-and mid-to late-career teachers do not engage with one another. Some teachers use the technology available to the classrooms and some do not, regardless of student need. Communication and competency issues also arise, and the parent community is concerned. The principal must balance all constituents’needs and interests while meeting a vision for an equitable and inclusive school. The case includes three activities and accompanying readings that explore different issues that arise. The first activity unpacks these concepts using a structure-culture-agency framework. The second activity takes a closer look at structure and agency through policy development. Lastly, the third activity examines the impact of culture and agency through professional development planning. Keywords: school leadership, principal’s role, equity, inclusion, school culture Governments and school boards are acknowledging the need to promote all students’ access to learning opportunities, especially in increasingly diverse school environments. Provincial-and state-level policies to promote equity and inclusion are on the rise; however, due to the diversity in the educational environments they target, the policies fall short of providing the direction needed (Coburn, Hill, & Spillane, 2016) to make equity and inclusion a reality. Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy (2009), for instance, outlined a four-year implementation plan that saw funding provided to boards during the first year “to support and promote equity and inclusive education and school safety, and to address harassment in schools”(Ontario Ministry of Education [OME], 2009, p. 19) .“Support [for] professional learning on equity and inclusive education for staff working in schools, boards, and the ministry”(OME, p. 21) was coupled with limited direction to boards regarding policy and programming in the second year, with the expectation that boards and schools would roll out their plans in the third and fourth years. This situation is not surprising in a diverse society; policy-makers walk a tightrope between specificity and vagueness, with policy that provides guidance but does not apply to all constituents on one side, and policy that applies broadly but does not provide guidance on the other side. Regardless, the very real consequences of this balancing act are policies interpreted and implemented in unintended ways, at best, or not implemented at all (Ball, Maguire, Braun, & Hoskins, 2011; Clune, 1990) . The current Ministry guidelines (OME, 2014) offer no additional support; they are written with the assumption that schools and school boards have policies and procedures in place already. Almost a decade after Ontario’s legislation, and with regard to similar policies in other jurisdictions, are equity and inclusion a reality within diverse school environ- ments? And, if so, how far have schools moved toward equity and inclusion within diversity? The case that follows focuses on students’ accessibility to education and assistive technology to achieve that purpose. While inclusivity entails more than the application of assistive technology, the case and the activities associated with it allow for an examination of the types of issues that arise with policy development and implementation, and the kinds of changes needed at the organizational level so that inclusive practices become a reality. Case Narrative Eric noted the

FAQs

What central challenge does the principal face in the case?

He must ensure all students have real access to education, particularly those requiring accommodations or assistive technology, while aligning stakeholders with an equitable and inclusive school vision.

How does the school culture affect equity and inclusion?

The culture is compartmentalized, with limited engagement among teachers across career stages and inconsistent technology use across classrooms, regardless of student needs.

What do the case’s three activities focus on?

They examine concepts through a structure-culture-agency framework, explore structure and agency via policy development, and assess how culture and agency influence professional development planning.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Danger Angel