Leadership for inclusion: Navigating the evolving landscape of the FET sector in Ireland

Abstract The Further Education and Training (FET) sector in Ireland offers a significant level of diversity, in student population, level of study, and form of delivery. As such, inclusive provision is crucial to the sector’s success as a viable learning pathway. Key to this process is the work of leaders, as there is ample evidence of their impact on effective inclusive policy and practice. The vast majority of existing research in this area has focused on primary, post-primary and higher education sectors with an evident lack of such work in FET. This project addresses this gap, illuminating perspectives and practices around leadership for inclusion in Irish FET settings, based on first-hand accounts from senior leaders. Five leaders in a range of FET settings participated in an exploratory qualitative inquiry with two researchers. The findings reveal a common conceptualisation of inclusion as rights-based and far-reaching where leaders are evidently committed to fully including all members of their respective populations. Leaders acknowledge their own role in modelling inclusive practice, but somewhat dichotomously highlight a lack of visibility around inclusive teaching and learning. Finally, they acknowledge that FET’s diminished status in comparison to other sectors has resulted in difficulties around gaining and employing supports for learners, but they also demonstrate a belief that this same status has undergone a sense of renewal in recent times.