As previously described in the introduction of this symposium, educational leaders play a significant role in shaping schools. They work autonomously but are, among other instances, influenced by multiple layers of governance. This paper focuses on school principals as key actors among educational leaders and investigates how the autonomy of school principals for inclusive education in Germany and Norway has been portrayed in political documents since 1994. Additionally, it examines how school principals perceive their autonomy in implementing inclusive education in Germany and Norway. The objective of this study is to deepen the understanding of leadership autonomy under two different forms of governance. Germany and Norway are particularly interesting for this comparison as both countries have different historically developed educational traditions but share similarities in recent educational reforms, providing greater room for maneuver for principals at the local level (Wermke & Prøitz, 2021). Inclusive education policy serves as a lens through which leadership autonomy is viewed, as inclusion must be implemented in both countries due to international agreements. However, these agreements encounter two historically different systems, and the international guidelines are interpreted differently in each country (Hall & Johansson, 2023; Steinmetz et al., 2021). To answer the first research question, 2700 pages of Education Acts and accompanying documents were analyzed using content document analysis (Bowen, 2009). The second part of the study involves a qualitative content analysis of 23 interviews with school principals from both Germany and Norway (Creswell & Creswell, 2023). The study is theoretically framed by Hatch’s assumption that answerability and responsibility play a significant role in the autonomy of school principals regarding the implementation of reforms (Hatch, 2020). Preliminary results indicate that Norwegian school principals have broader opportunities to create inclusive schools than German principals, such as easier access to financial resources and local curriculum adaptation options. However, there is a legal provision threatening imprisonment for negligent implementation of certain regulations. In contrast, German school principals, despite having local autonomy, are significantly constrained by directives from school supervisory authorities and the ministry of education, with the supervisory authorities playing a more prominent role than public administration structures.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design : qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage. Hall, J. B., & Johansson, L. (2023). Shifting school environment policies: A Deleuzian problematisation of universal rights in Norwegian education. Policy Futures in Education, 22(4), 493–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103231177614 Hatch, T. (2020). Building the Capacity for Collective Responsibility in Norway. In: Jones, M., & Harris, A. (Eds.), Leading and Transforming Education Systems. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects (pp.121-131), Vol. 52. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4996-0_9 Steinmetz, S.; Wrase, M.; Helbig, M., & Döttinger, I. (2021). Die Umsetzung schulischer Inklusion nach der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention in den deutschen Bundesländern. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748924401