Promoting Inclusive Education Through School Leadership: The Mediating Role of Principal Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Inclusive education depends not only on policy frameworks but also on school leaders’ capacity to translate inclusive principles into sustained organisational practice. This study examined the relationships among principals’ transformational and transactional leadership, self-efficacy, school culture, and the implementation of inclusive policies and practices. The study employed a cross-sectional quantitative design involving 452 principals of primary and lower-secondary schools in Greece. Data were collected using the Leadership for Inclusion Questionnaire (LEI-Q), the School Culture Survey (SCS), the Principals’ Self-Efficacy for Inclusive Leadership Scale, and the Transformational and Transactional Leadership Scale (TATL). Both leadership styles were positively associated with school culture, although transformational leadership showed stronger and more consistent relationships. Hierarchical regression explained 50% of the variance in inclusive leadership practices. Principals’ self-efficacy accounted for 45% of the explained variance, while transformational leadership contributed an additional 4%. Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of both leadership styles through self-efficacy across all four dimensions of inclusive policy and practice implementation. The findings identify principals’ self-efficacy as the principal mechanism through which leadership orientations are translated into inclusive action, highlighting the importance of strengthening leaders’ confidence and capacity alongside organisational conditions that support sustainable inclusive school development.