Kowch, EugeneMooney, Laura Rae2021-09-222021-09-222021-09Mooney, L. R. (2021). Fostering an Inclusive Leadership Team: A Critical Ethnography of a Learning Support Team for Students with Severe Intellectual Disabilities (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113923High school principals grapple with how to effectively reform the bureaucratic and social culture of their schools to be more inclusive of students with severe intellectual disabilities while also maintaining high standards of academic excellence for all students. There is a paucity of scholarship examining leadership from within an inclusive learning support team (LST) for high school students with severe intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this study was to describe how a learning support team informs inclusive leadership practice. The researcher studied learning support team members from one Alberta school and district, including a director of learning, a learning support specialist, a high school principal, a learning support teacher, two secondary teachers and two education assistants. The inquiry was guided by this research question: How does a learning support team for high school students with severe intellectual disabilities inform inclusive leadership practice? A critical ethnography approach was taken and involved both observations and interviews, with a systems analysis of the findings informing concepts like teamwork and the distribution of power among the learning support team. The resulting model for fostering an inclusive leadership team provides guidance for school leader teams in similar contexts when including students with severe intellectual disabilities. Specifically, the model emphasizes the need for a coherent relationship between the classroom, school leadership and district leadership teams so together they can: (1) make curriculum connections for students; (2) provide reflective practice opportunities for staff; (3) integrate teamwork into professional development activities; (4) innovate high school instruction to be more inclusive of this population of students; and (5) develop more inclusive policy directions. Conclusions point to a need for modified curriculum development at the high school level and collaborative professional development among principals, teachers, and education assistants.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.collaborationcritical ethnographyeducational leadershiphigh school reforminclusive educationlearning support teamsevere intellectual disabilityteamworkEducationEducation--AdministrationEducation--Curriculum and InstructionEducation--SecondaryEducation--SpecialEducation--Teacher TrainingEducationdoctoral thesis10.11575/PRISM/39240