Principals play many parts: a review of the research on school principals as special education leaders 2001-2011

This meta-analysis examines current North American research on the work of school principals in the special education milieu. More specifically, it considers how elementary and secondary principals envision and act in ways that foster inclusion within a school community. Three core special education-oriented domains arose in the 19 studies examined in this meta-analysis: inclusive programme delivery, staff collaboration, and parental engagement. Within these three domains, research indicates that principals take on seven key roles as they work to foster inclusion: visionary, partner, coach, conflict resolver, advocate, interpreter, and organiser. When taking on these seven roles principals draw from various approaches to leadership, such as transformative, distributive, and democratic leadership. In striving to offer a supportive special education programme, principals face a number of challenges, such as fostering collaboration where perspectives diverge, establishing a cohesive school vision of inclusion and practice that offers differentiated learning experiences, and reducing situations involving litigation and teacher attrition. In detailing the three domains and seven roles of special education leadership, this article outlines a number of key recommendations for research, policy, and practice.