A case study approach was used to investigate how principals manage inclusive schools and how teachers and principals perceive inclusion. The study was conducted in two elementary schools known for successful inclusion practice. A total of five special education teachers, five regular education teachers and the two principals of the schools formally participated in the data gathering for the study while numerous other school personnel informally participated.

Qualitative research methodologies (Patton, 1990; Miles & Huberman, 1994) were employed to determine the principals’ role in supporting inclusion practices. Data were gathered by interviewing teachers and principals, observing the school environment and reviewing inclusion related school documentation.

This study demonstrated that principals have a pervasive effect on inclusion environments and program delivery. Several themes emerged which correlate with related literature on effective practices for principals. First, communication was identified as an essential tool for principals to practice. Through good communication, decisions can be made and problems solved that relate to inclusion. Effective communication practices also provide outlets for expressions of feelings about inclusion. The second theme, principal support, was identified as necessary to the practice of inclusion. Support was defined as providing materials and equipment, hiring additional personnel, training, solving problems, and providing emotional support to teachers. The third theme involved creating an atmosphere of caring throughout the schools. Caring focused on valuing students and promoting acceptance of diversity among the schools’ student population.

How principals manage a school in the context of inclusion was the central question of this study, therefore, the thoughts, beliefs, and feelings of the teachers and principals about the practice of inclusion were essential to uncover. Participants identified hard work as a necessary part of inclusion practice. Hard work was defined as working longer hours, collaborating with other teachers, problem solving, defining roles and making decisions. In this regard, teachers believed that the appropriate scheduling of students into certain teachers’ classrooms was important to student success and teachers’ satisfaction, and they spent many hours solving scheduling issues. High expectations also emerged as a common central theme in both schools. Expectations that appeared most clearly were teachers expecting other teachers to share in certain responsibilities, teachers and principals holding all students to similar standards, and teachers and principals expecting certain kinds of supports and duties of one another. In this regard, positive relationships were viewed as critical to program success, and both teacher and principals worked hard to maintain this at all times.

The two cases reported here provide a window into how inclusion can be made to work. The stories told here support existing knowledge about leadership, and show explicitly that each setting for inclusion must be actively created by the key participants.