Challenging exclusion of children from culturally diverse families: Leadership initiatives in Korean EducationThis paper examines the role of school leaders in promoting inclusive education practices in their schools. The author adopts a Korean focus to examine how leadership styles and practices can lead to exclusion as well as inclusioa The paper explores how issues relating to the lives and experiences of children from culturally diverse families are being responded to within curriculum initiatives sponsored by the MEST (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology) and by regional tiers of Educational Governance. The issue has become one of considerable significance not only in Korea but across the North-East Asian region generally, as large-scale migrations are taking place brought about by a number of social and demographic factors. Within Korea there has been a significant growth in the numbers of people (mainly women) whose national and cultural origins lie in other countries and they and their children have become the targets for abuse and discrimination. This paper raises questions about trends of xenophobia coming from within state agencies that have the effect of further isolating children whose families are culturally diverse. Further questions are raised about the ability of a state/national education system to adapt to the inclusive values of a globalising world. The paper critically assesses training programmes designed for school leaders and asks questions about the extent to which they are supportive and accepting of diversity, rather than promoting and consolidating the national uniformity that has been such a strong feature of the Korean education system over the past seven decades.