Schools have always to exist against the backdrop of current cultural and social changes and must respond to new political challenges. In this context, inclusion and diversity policies are seen in the international discussion as an increasingly important strategy for innovation and change in the field of school development during the last years. The emphasis is especially on new ways of collaboration with different stakeholders inside and outside of schools as well as on new forms of management and leadership for promoting organizational change towards an inclusive future which takes diversity as a chance and not as a threat. In our symposium we want to point out different aspects of current inclusion and diversity policies in schools at different organizational levels like the individual level, the group level and the level of the organization at a whole. Within the framework of three different national and cultural perspectives we will present research results from three case studies in Switzerland, Portugal and Hongkong dealing with administrative regulations, established working cultures and every day educational and leadership practices. We ask: Which are the learning challenges as well the learning results from implementing inclusive schooling strategies and diversified forms of leadership for the schools of tomorrow?   

The three different research projects use a mixed methods design with quantitative and qualitative approaches for collecting data and analysis, e.g. official documents, school projects, evaluation reports, and curricular projects as well as interviews, site visits of observation of staff development programs and panel or committee meetings and also questionnaires.

The results clearly show, that the way from initiation to implementation new educational orders into a future orientated new organizational practice is a long one and has to take into account the different needs from different professional and organizational cultures and every day educational practices as well as from different stakeholders inside and outside of schools. Not least inclusive and diversified leadership strategies seem to play a crucial role to face this agenda of change and organizational learning. Special attention will be given in this symposium to the national contexts of the studies, their commonalities and differences as well as the transferability of the findings within a European context and in a global world.

Fahrenwald, C. (2016). Learning as Being in the World – Organisationales Lernen aus praxistheoretischer Perspektive. In: A. Schröer, M. Göhlich, S. M. Weber & H. Pätzold (Eds.): Organisation und Theorie. Beiträge der Kommission Organisationspädagogik, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, pp. 97-105. Fehrmann, S. (Ed.) (2018). Schools of Tomorrow. Berlin. Matthes Matthes & Seitz. Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.