Abstract:

Confidence as well as the attitude - according to Blackwell, Lauricella & Wartella (2014) - seem to be the most influential factors for teachers’ use of digital technology in primary school. In so far, teachers’ education plays a most relevant part in developmental processes of the educational system in the digitally mediatized world. As results of the ICILS (International Computer and Information Literacy Study) 2013 study (Bos et al.) show, especially German teachers are still far behind in a habituated (Biermann 2009) and competent digital behavior - compared, e.g., to teachers in Canada or Denmark.

Besides the use of modern digital technology, it is the professional realization of inclusion, which represents a challenge in present teachers education processes. Understanding teachers’ professionalization as a form of theoretical knowledge transfer as well as practical training, it seems to be useful to integrate both aspects into university studies. Considering the idea of T-PACK (Technical Pedagogical Content Knowledge) (Shulman 1986) and extending that explanatory model for teachers’ competencies on the inclusive practices, teachers’ students of German Language and Literature, as well as rehabilitation sciences, started a three years project. University education and school practice work together to enable students of different school types to combine theoretical knowledge about an inclusive use of digital media with practical experience in class. Working together in groups representing both educational subjects, German Language and Literature as well as rehabilitation sciences, theoretical knowledge as well as confidence for the competent use of tablets helping to create settings for inclusive reading education and training came together. As part of a twelve-week-university course, the students develop an own digital project, which they realize in one of the universities partner schools.

The present article will outline the course structure as well as the theoretical background of the whole teaching project. Besides, it draws the attention on accompanying research study (Lohmann et al. 2017), examining the awareness for theoretical knowledge of the students. The question arises in how far the practical teaching experience itself - as most of the students assess the professionalization process themselves - is the reason for their attitude towards digital media and inclusion. The presentation will ask based on qualitative data out of guided interviews, in how far a longer established theoretical background (Guerriero & Révain 2017) or a rather immediate experience of self-efficacy (Bandura 1977) is influencing the way students describe their attitude and confidence in the inclusive use of digital media.

Keywords:

Inclusion, digital media, teachers' education.