Conference Agenda

As schools across Europe, the UK, and beyond are increasingly diversifying in terms of student populations (Devine, 2011; Dixon et al., 2014; Dijkstra et al., 2016), it is imperative that educational practices are inclusive by nature to promote, facilitate, and achieve the social, educational, and emotional demands of all students (Sorkos & Hajisoteriou, 2021). It is the contention of the current authors that Relational, Emotional, and Affective (REA) Leadership skills and practices which facilitate a human-centred approach to school decision-making processes, are vital for the achievement of these goals as they promote collaboration, empathy, open-discussion, and trust (Maritsa et al., 2022; Messineo et al., 2021; Skerritt et al., 2022).

Inclusive education, rather than that which is segregated or integrated (Elton-Chalcraft et al., 2016), requires an understanding and consideration of all stakeholders’ positions and needs (Messiou, 2019). Education, particularly primary and post-primary education, is a system made up of multiple stakeholders including the students and their families, the teaching staff, school leaders, and the community. These stakeholders and their needs do not remain static across schools however, with each school differing based on social, economic, and geographic factors (Carey, 2018; Hall et al., 2021; Park, 2010). This highlights a number of concerns. Firstly, knowledge generation for the purpose of influencing inclusive education practices, is complex due to the wide array of voices to be considered. Secondly, a top-down approach to knowledge generation for the purpose of influencing practice, cannot hope to address individual school’s needs as it adopts a problem-solving approach for a general population of schools within a specific country or state (OECD, 2019). In acknowledging that schools and their stakeholders have their own specific needs and that schools occur not in isolation but embedded in the wider society, the question to be addressed is how can the individual needs of schools be met whilst also influencing the practices of the wider system?

It is the contention of the current authors that research involving students, pre-service and in-service teachers, and school leaders as both researchers and research participants, will allow for the generation of knowledge at the local level, from those that are currently experiencing the education system. This generated knowledge has the potential to challenge and build upon existing conceptualisations held not only in the extent literature but by those within the system (students, teachers, school leaders etc.) as they practice and experience education in the present. This research strives to explore the facilitation of stakeholder voice through relational, emotional, and affective leadership practices that promote a human-centred approach to education. It is through this facilitation of knowledge generation that the foundation for systemic change in school practices is forged.

The current authors propose an approach to achieve these goals of knowledge generation, theory conceptualisation, and influencing practice. The CELTS research group’s founding and acting partners are based in Norway and Ireland and work with a vast network of international collaborators representing policy makers, HEIs, primary and post-primary schools, and other researchers. The group work on a variety of research strands with the ultimate purpose of facilitating research with the inclusion of students, pre-service and in-service teachers, and school leaders for the facilitation of knowledge generation in a bottom-up approach beginning with stakeholders and moving towards wider systemic change. The methods to be utilised are discussed in detail in the next section.