Abstract:

The terms inclusion and participation are often described as vague, for e.g. Löser and Werning (2013) described the concept of inclusion as “diffuse”, and Thomas et al. (2020) characterized the term participation as "multilayered and contradictory". Furthermore the terms are defined differently in various discourses. This project focusses on the discourse of teachers as an interplay of an scientific discourse and the educational policy discourse. One possible access here is the international comparative view of various discourses on the understanding of participation and inclusion, especially with a focus on the interdependencies of participation and inclusion seen in the statements of teachers.

The research project deals with this desideratum for the national and international context by evaluating data from group discussions of teachers in an international comparative perspective with the understanding of shared knowledge according to Mannheim (1980).

This project is led by an overarching question: Can interdependencies between the terms inclusion and participation be shown in the understanding of teachers in different countries and which interfering contextual conditions can be identified?

The group discussions with teachers were held as part of internships at four schools in Italy, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg at the beginning of 2019. In terms of comparability, teachers were asked who teach in the third and fourth grades. The overall sample includes 32 teachers, including 30 female teachers and 2 male teachers. In accordance with the basics of international comparative research, the group discussions in German and English were guided by a uniform guideline. The question of the teachers' understanding of inclusion and participation was explicitly included in the key questions and widened into a discussion of the relationship between the two terms. The data evaluation was based on the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring (2015)
At a glance, with regard to the central question for the article, it can be said that interdependencies between the terms inclusion and participation were seen in all countries, but due to the nationally shaped developments and discourses associated with the terms in different forms and intensities. To systematize and discuss this seems to be a worthwhile basis for further reflections including practical implications in school. The following parallels emerged across the federal states: Diagnostic processes that are carried out to ascribe a funding need and thus have legal consequences are generally of great importance for the understanding of inclusion. A shared understanding of participation can be taken as a co-determination of all pupils in educational decisions, including the choice of appropriate spatial environments.

References:
[1] Löser, Jessica M.; Werning, Rolf (2015): Inklusion - allgegenwärtig, kontrovers, diffus? - In: Erziehungswissenschaft 26 51, S. 17-24.
[2] Mannheim, K. (1980): Strukturen des Denkens 1. Aufl., Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
[3] Mayring, P. (2015): Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. Weinheim, Basel.
[4] Thomas, S.; Rothmaler, J.; Hildebrandt, F.; Budde, R.; Pigorsch, S. (2020): Partizipation als Gegenstand und Methode der Bildungsforschung. Zur Einführung. In: Thomas, S. et al (Hrsg.) Partizipation in der Bildungsforschung. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa. S. 7-14.

Keywords:

Inclusion, participation, international-comparative research.