Promoting Leadership in the Ongoing Professional Development of Teachers: Responding to Globalization and Inclusion

Thi s paper explores the need for innovative leadership in teacher education in the Canadian context, with a particular call for renewed professional development of current teachers. Within a country define d as multicultural, recent demographic shifts, in terregional migration, growing ethnic diversity, and the emergence of a paradigm of inclusion, contemporary classrooms are evolving at a pace faster than projected. While inclusive education emerged from the growth of services for children with disabilities, it is now a concept much broader than initially con-ceived. Expanded concepts of learner diffe rences are necessitating an urgent need for leadership in redeveloping effe ctive training for current teachers. Thi s paper argues that ongoing professional development must be characterized by six focus areas in order to empower teachers with pragmatic skills to balance the needs of their diverse classes. The a uthors conclude that a fir st step in this process is training for administrators who lead professional development in schools.