Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program/Concentration

Educational Leadership

Committee Director

Dr. Karen Sanzo

Committee Member

Dr. John Baaki

Committee Member

Dr. Jonna Bobzien

Abstract

Despite decades of federal legislation mandating inclusion, many schools still struggle to serve students with disabilities effectively, resulting in persistent achievement gaps and limited postsecondary success. Research consistently identifies principals’ attitudes and practices as the most influential factor in inclusive school success, yet existing studies have examined these elements in isolation rather than as interconnected parts of a school system. This hermeneutic phenomenological case study explored how ten Virginia elementary school principals understood and enacted their attitudes and leadership practices toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in their schools. The study used van Manen’s (2014) hermeneutic phenomenology to understand principals’ experiences and Hoy and Miskel’s (2013) open social systems theory to analyze how schools function as interconnected organizational systems. Participants were purposefully selected from schools that met both federal and state standards for effectiveness and inclusivity for students with disabilities. Data were collected through three in-depth interviews with each principal, totaling 32 interviews and approximately 31.8 hours of conversation. Through systematic analysis of 935 significant statements from the interviews, the research identified 76 meaning units organized into 13 categories within van Manen’s four dimensions of lived experience: lived space, lived body, lived time, and lived relations. This process revealed four situated themes and four composite essential themes. The findings show that effective inclusive leadership is not simply a set of skills or competencies to check off a list. Instead, it operates as a fundamental way of being, a deeply held, nonnegotiable commitment to inclusive consciousness that permeates all aspects of school leadership. This inclusive consciousness drives school transformation through three key mechanisms: building relational trust and leading with authentic intentionality, creating collaborative structures with shared accountability, and supporting responsive pedagogical practices that meet diverse student needs. When all five system elements (culture, individual, structure, politics, and the teaching-learning core) align around this inclusive consciousness, inclusive practices become embedded and self-sustaining rather than dependent on constant external pressure. The study challenges competency-based models of inclusive leadership and offers implications for principal preparation, professional development, evaluation systems, and policy reform centered on cultivating consciousness rather than merely building skills.

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.25777/vsdc-7a97

ISBN

9798197811325

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