Professionalisation for inclusive education through reflexive practicum Erasmus Project

Project Title

Professionalisation for inclusive education through reflexive practicum

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

The project is located in the context of teacher education. It pursues three goals: to foster inclusion in schools, to increase the necessary competencies of student teachers and to sharpen the professional profile of teachers in the direction of inclusion. Thus, the project’s main goal is to support student teachers in their practical training to achieve a first subject-related professionalization for dealing with heterogeneity. Methodically guided reflection settings help students to act individually in complex situations during their practicum. By means of systematic, reflection-oriented support, student teachers become involved as educational actors in the diversity of school classes and the needs of multiply disadvantaged students (social background, flight, migration, etc.) even during their studies. Results from research on professions show that professionals are characterized by an extremely high level of case-related competence to reflect which is based on professional knowledge. The project aims to structurally support the acquisition of this competence.
The profile of the participants results from the framework of professionalization for inclusive education. Students, internship supervisors from universities and schools, scientists, persons responsible for the first, second and third phase of teacher training and educational policymakers were involved in this project. In total, all over 2,000 people were reached by the internship support events, multiplier events and the homepage.

Two interrelated products have been created in the project: a module for coaching in practicum and a corresponding training course for teachers and university staff who supervise students in their practical training. The following activities were carried out in the development process of the products. Expectations of the interest groups were surveyed, interviews, group discussions and surveys were carried out and the prototypes of the created products were implemented. Evaluations played a central role in the development process. In addition to four successful realized multiplier events, seven project meetings and 21 online meetings were held. For all of them, detailed protocols and relevant to-do lists for further activities were created.
The results and effects are that the participants’ awareness of the importance of reflection and especially of the emotional aspects was significantly increased. Between the qualification of the internship facilitators and the effectiveness of the internship facilitation exists a close connection which was shown to be innovative and important especially during the seminars for teacher training.
From various evidence it can be concluded that the students involved in the project benefited from it in the following ways:
– A greater understanding and open-mindedness for social, ethnic and cultural diversity, a feeling of coherence (comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness) was achieved. Thus a higher motivation and job satisfaction as well as a reduction of the stress experience during the internship was obtained. This is connected with increased professional competence of the prospective teachers and a higher probability of (mental) health in professional life.
– They experienced a strengthening of their self-image and their profile as professionals.
– They became more competent in dealing with diversity in learning groups.
– The cooperative and innovative reflection on practice which was trained in the internship support event could be adopted in their professional habitus. For the future it will enable them to work more closely with other actors in school to promote inclusion and prevent exclusion.
– The participating schools were involved in a process of exploratory learning. They are rethinking their practice of internship support and beginning to incorporate formats of reflection into their structure or to take up suggestions from them. In this way they were motivated for organizational and personnel development.
– It can be assumed that universities will change their internship support courses, align them with the example of a reflected inclusive practice and train their staff and internship teachers accordingly. The willingness to deal with diversity in the educational system in a reflective way will be increased. It is expected that internship support seminars that focus on systematic and methodical reflection of complex pedagogical situations will also be implemented in other teacher training institutions. A first lasting effect can be seen at the University of Regensburg, since the Intellectual Outputs are used in the teacher training program for pedagogy in case of behavioral disorders.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 163451,25 Eur

Project Coordinator

PAEDAGOGISCHE HOCHSCHULE LUDWIGSBURG & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Wilhelm-Feil-Schule
• KIRCHLICHE PADAGOGISCHE HOCHSCHULE WIEN
• UNIVERSITE DU LUXEMBOURG
• LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN