“Promoting individuals. How does it work?” This was the motto for the recent German Teachers’ Day, which saw over 1,000 teachers gathering in Dortmund. The day – a nationwide training day for teachers at all levels - was organised by EI affiliate Verband Bildung und Erziehung (VBE). As in previous years, the training day focused on inclusive schools.
Social dialogue required
“It is misconceived federalism, given existing challenges in the school field alone, to make the federal state in Germany completely irresponsible in terms of school policy through a cooperation ban,” said VBE Federal Chairman and VBE NRW Chairman Udo Beckmann. “We call upon political authorities: put an end to this fight over competencies. Instead of a ban on cooperation, make a successful cooperation offer! Inclusion is a social responsibility and has to be implemented jointly by federal, state and local governments.”
‘Inclusion cannot be achieved,’ he said, ‘unless the necessary resources in staff, materials, and buildings are included in financial plans.’
Beckmann stressed that education staff in all German regions demonstrated their readiness to become qualified to undertake new tasks, but felt let down by the political authorities.
“VBE calls for a broad transparent dialogue where no small talk is made, but the concerns and needs of those involved are taken seriously,” he said. “By implementing inclusion there must be no losers, neither among children with disability or among children without disability.”
Civil society support for inclusion in schools
Seventy one per cent of Germans and 69 per cent in NRW believe there are considerable advantages in having children, with and without learning impediments, learning together in elementary school. This demonstrates that there is significant popular support for inclusion, said Beckmann. He also noted that eight out of 10 German citizens see the reduction of class sizes as a prerequisite for shared learning, warning that “there is a risk that the policy-makers will lead inclusion to the wall”.
EI: Support needed to underpin rights of all students
Inclusive education means that “all students should be educated together, to the same high standards, in so far as possible in the same education institution, irrespective of their gender, faith, ethnic, cultural or economic background or physical or intellectual capacities”, EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen said.
‘In an inclusive education setting,’ he added, ‘students are directly confronted by the challenges of diversity and learn how to be more caring and responsible citizens at an early age. Real inclusive education is challenging and demands a pro-active stance by public authorities, teachers and education employees, students, parents and civil society to include students from different backgrounds and with different learning and physical abilities in the same educational facility.’
“Quality pre-service and in-service teacher education and training is also central to equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills to provide appropriate services for students from different backgrounds, with different capabilities and orientations,” van Leeuwen underlined. “Such teacher education and training and professional development should be fully funded by public authorities and targeted to help teachers embrace diversity and use it to enhance the learning experience.”