The Future of Education

External school evaluation, conducted in Portugal by the Inspectorate-General of Education and Science (IGEC), has gained increasing relevance in debates on school improvement, institutional accountability, and the promotion of inclusive education [1,2]. The External School Evaluation Programme, within the framework of its third evaluation cycle, provides a particularly relevant analytical lens for understanding how school leadership practices contribute to the development of more inclusive educational organisations [3]. This qualitative case study aims to analyse how school leaders promote inclusion in the context of external evaluation, drawing on document analysis – including the IGEC report and key institutional documents from the evaluated school – and semi-structured interviews with educational actors holding leadership responsibilities. The analysis focuses on how school leaders interpret evaluation processes, mobilise school self-evaluation, and structure organisational responses oriented towards student diversity, in line with broader international concerns about inclusive education [1,2]. The findings show that inclusive leadership is expressed through collaborative decision-making, strategic use of evaluation data, support for teaching practices, attention to students’ needs, and the articulation between school improvement processes and inclusive education policies [3]. The interviewed leaders also identify the significant increase in students of foreign nationality, associated with growing linguistic and cultural diversity, as one of the most pressing current challenges in nurturing an inclusive school. This scenario requires sustained organisational responses capable of moving beyond a merely formal approach to normative compliance. This study therefore highlights the need to strengthen the sustainability of inclusive practices, the shared responsibility of different educational actors, and the understanding of external school evaluation as an opportunity for reflection, organisational learning, and educational transformation.