It is our pleasure to introduce this blog, ‘Navigating Systemic Tensions: Principals’ Work Between Inclusion and Differentiation’ by Johanna Lüddeckens.
The editorial team really enjoyed reading Johanna’s blog. It reminds us that leadership is complex and the Principal’s work demands the navigation of competing tensions in Sweden. But for many readers, the experiences of leadership in this study will resonate, as it did for the Blog Editorial team. Johanna’s blog calls for us to recognise that leadership is not about certainty but about navigating uncertainty.
If you have any comments or thoughts about this blog and the points it raises, then do share on social media using the hashtag #BELMASblog or contact the BELMAS Blog editorial team by emailing: blog@belmas.org.uk
What does it mean to lead when the map is constantly being redrawn?
Being a principal today involves more than managing staff or implementing policy documents. It means navigating conflicting demands, shifting expectations, and structural contradictions, while trying to build a school that works for all students.
Based on my research on school leadership and inclusion in Swedish schools, I discuss how principals interpret and act within the tension between inclusion and differentiation. It is not a matter of two opposites, but of parallel logics shaping everyday leadership. The studies draw on analyses of how educational reforms have historically oscillated between integration and segregation (Hammarqvist & Lüddeckens, 2025, under review), and how contemporary principals respond to inclusion demands through distributed leadership and systems thinking (Lüddeckens, 2025, under review).
In my interpretation, inclusion is more than individual support. I see it as a systemic effort to create participation, equity, and opportunities for all students, where the school’s organisation, culture, and leadership shape accessible, sustainable learning environments. In the literature, a distinction is often made between pedagogical and organisational differentiation (Persson, 2010; Eikeland & Ohna, 2020). Pedagogical differentiation refers to how teaching is adapted within the classroom to meet diverse needs, through varied methods, materials, and assessment. Organisational differentiation concerns structural strategies used to accommodate differences, such as resource allocation, flexible groupings, and support structures. Both forms interact closely; how they are balanced shapes possibilities for inclusive education.
Leadership in fields of tension
Swedish education policy has long aimed to create equity and accessible teaching for all students. But these goals have often coexisted with organisational solutions that differentiate between student groups. The comprehensive school reform of the 20th century is one example. Even though the aim was a unified school system, the reform also led to expanded special support and organisational differentiation (Tallberg Broman et al., 2002).
This dual logic still shapes principals’ work. They are expected to promote inclusive ideals but do so within a governance system marked by state regulation, market logics, and professional norms, forces that do not always align (Thornton & Ocasio, 2008). Principals thus become translators who adapt general policy into local practice.
This is far from simple. Leading in such environments is not about following a script but about orienting oneself within institutional complexity, weighing values against practical realities, and managing uncertainty.
“Organised uncertainty” and distributed leadership
One way principals address these demands is by exercising distributed leadership, sharing responsibility, fostering collaboration, and building collective structures. This can enhance the school’s capacity to meet diverse needs and support long-term development (Wang & Tian, 2023).
However, the effectiveness of this approach depends on context. Time, trust, and organisational stability are unevenly distributed. Many principals carry the responsibility of translating vague policies into concrete action without clear guidelines. One principal described governance as “organised uncertainty,” structured yet unpredictable, capturing the reality many face: decisions must be made even when direction is unclear.
Inclusion, differentiation… and dilemmas in between
Two structural dilemmas recur in the research. The first is juridification, the growing tendency to address educational challenges through legal means. On one hand, this strengthens students’ rights; on the other hand, it increases administrative burdens on principals in under-resourced schools (Berg & Forsberg, 2023).
The second dilemma is the implementation gap: teachers are expected to adapt their teaching to heterogeneous student groups but often lack tools or collaborative structures (Gibbs, 2023). When systems are misaligned, targeted interventions can reinforce exclusion, especially if not linked to broader pedagogical work (cf. Horrocks, White & Roberts, 2008; Wermke et al., 2024; Bays & Crockett, 2007).
Here differentiation becomes double-edged: a strategy for inclusion but also a mechanism of fragmentation without shared foundations.
Building for something that lasts
The principals I interviewed rarely described their work in terms of fixed models. Rather, it was about ‘holding things together’: creating coherence while balancing urgent needs with long-term goals and building structures where more people take responsibility.
One principal put it like this: ‘My job is to create something that still works when I’m no longer here.’
That sentence has stayed with me, not because it solves dilemmas but because it reframes sustainability: something slow and relational rather than fast or individual.
An invitation to reflect
If you work in a leadership role: How do you handle these tensions in your everyday work? What helps you stay true to your values when systems pull in different directions? And how do we as a community build schools where inclusion becomes lived reality sustained by organisations?
There are no easy answers. But perhaps leadership isn’t about solving every contradiction but staying the course, choosing direction with clarity and care, even today amidst uncertainty.
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