Date of Award

Spring 5-24-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Carrice Cummins

Abstract

This qualitative autoethnographic study explores the role of a lower elementary principal in leading a co-teaching initiative to create a more inclusive educational environment for students with disabilities. Rooted in Lewin’s Change Theory, the study examines how personal experience, professional vision, and intentional leadership contributed to the implementation and expansion of co-teaching practices within an early childhood setting. The research focuses on the principal’s dual role as both a systems-level change agent and an insider experiencing the transformation firsthand. Data were collected through reflective narrative, stakeholder interviews, and document analysis to provide a comprehensive view of the leadership decisions, cultural shifts, and emotional complexities that unfolded during the change process. Participants included district leaders, co-teachers, general education teachers, school leadership team members, and parents of students in co-taught classrooms. Using the constant comparative method, the study identified four essential themes: the defining traits of inclusive leaders, the responsibilities they assume to drive change, the challenges they face within traditional school structures, and the powerful influence of lived experience in sustaining their commitment to inclusion. Findings revealed that co-teaching, when led with clarity, empathy, and sustained support, can shift school culture and increase access to meaningful learning opportunities for all students. The study emphasizes the critical role of school leaders in guiding mindset shifts, building collaborative structures, and maintaining momentum throughout the change process. This work contributes to the growing field of inclusive leadership by offering a firsthand account of what it takes to lead with equity in mind, through resistance, uncertainty, and ultimately, transformation.

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