The Influence of Leadership Style on the Growth and Inclusivity of Special Needs Student in Educational Programs: The Case of Addis Ababa University
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Date
2027-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This project seeks to examine the relationship between leadership styles and inclusion and the holistic development of the students with special needs at Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia. Structurally informed by transformational leadership, an inclusive education framework, and the social model of disability, this investigation takes a qualitative phenomenological methodological stance to understand how types of leadership might directly influence institutional practices and student experience. Data collection included semi-structured interviews with seven students with disabilities and four others at the university an administrator, and faculty in order to comprehend how equity and inclusion are delivered within AAU. Our thematic analysis revealed that AAU's leadership is primarily transactional and authoritarian with stark bureaucratic processes, limited stakeholder involvement, and governance focuses/creates compliance. AAU has policies under Article 8 and supports centers, however student engagement and access through those policies is curtailed through fragmented operational oversight, inadequate funding, and no accountability. Regardless, students expressed their struggles with barriers associated with access such as inaccessible buildings, outdated assistive technologies; cultural stigma, and social exclusion which contributed to restricting overall academic, emotional, and social welfare. Regardless of the structural and cultural constraints of being students with disabilities at AAU, students accepted being resilient and requested participatory leadership around some kind of training for faculty and dedicate funding to include in access. This project reminds us that transformative leadership is needed for pursuing and bridging the gaps between policy and actual practice. This research has given us reason to believe that inclusion must be embedded not only in institutions but in the lives of students. The need to advocate for structural change is also necessary in various projects to keep flourishing in a growing discourse around inclusive education and likewise flourish within resource constrained environments for inclusive educational change and appeal to relevant formal policies. The work will assist institutional reform because this change is necessary for the current state of exclusionary model in practice and promote inclusive practice for sustainable development and future lifestyle decisions.
Key words: Leadership styles, inclusive education, special needs students, student growth
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Keywords
Leadership styles, inclusive education, special needs students, student growth