From Compliance to Cultivation: How Principals’ Values Shape Communities of Practice for Inclusion in Market-Driven Kindergartens

Leadership plays a decisive role in shaping inclusive cultures in early childhood education, yet its influence operates through complex social mechanisms beyond formal policy implementation. This qualitative case study applies Communities of Practice (CoP) theory to examine how leadership values shape the practices, relationships and collaborative dynamics of two kindergartens in a competitive, market-driven system. Through the CoP lens, we demonstrate how values-based leadership mediates between policy frameworks and actual inclusive practice. Our findings illuminate how leadership influence flows through community sponsorship, shapes professional identities, and either enables or constrains collaboration across professional boundaries. The study reveals significant contrasts between leadership focused on policy compliance and leadership that cultivates inclusive communities through ‘principled pragmatism’. It demonstrates how leaders navigate tensions between market pressures and inclusive values, contributing to understanding how CoP theory illuminates leadership processes that sustain inclusive communities through cultivation rather than individual competencies alone.