The recent dramatic growth in the number of international schools globally has led to significant changes in the types of pupils who attend. Newer international schools are increasingly being established to educate the children of wealthy local populations, as opposed to the traditional international school pupil population of children of expatriate and itinerant workers. As a result, the proportion of children attending international schools identified as having special educational needs (SEN) may have increased significantly. The study explores the responses of international schools to these changes and examines the factors that can promote inclusion and support for pupils with special educational needs in international schools. This research is timely as inclusive philosophies and practices are being increasingly adopted within national education systems across the world. The situation of international schools as being generally separate to, and at times exempt from, national mandates and requirements has meant that until now there has been little by way of incentive for international schools to adopt inclusive philosophies and practices. Nevertheless, the changes in pupil demographic have meant that international schools may need to adapt in order to support a broader range of pupils with different learning needs and abilities.

The study investigated the factors that influenced the admission, inclusion and support procedures for pupils with SEN in a selection of six international schools, located in four different global regions. The design was a multiple case-study that allowed comparisons to be made between some of the schools on a local basis, as well as generally across the whole group of six participant schools. The study adopted an interpretivist paradigm, using qualitative data in the form of attitudes and opinions of school leaders, SENCOs and classroom teachers. Data gathering tools included questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and analysis of related school documentation. Data was triangulated in order to allow for comparisons to be made between the responses of school leaders, SENCOs, classroom teachers and external agencies.

The findings showed that host-state intervention and related legislative requirements were the most significant factors in influencing schools within specific areas towards adopting more inclusive practices in supporting pupils with SEN. Other important factors were an inclusive leadership and governance that supported and implemented effective inclusive policies and practices. These were found to influence other factors, such as the levels of professional development offered to teachers for support of pupils with SEN. The least significant factors were associated with the limitations offered by the environment within which the international schools were located, for example, those relating to the relative scarcity of English-medium specialist support services available to schools in some regions