Interview 1/3: Wiltrud Thies about Inclusive Education in Germany, the projects Sophie-Scholl-School & Sophie-Scholl-Inklusiv
Thu, 29/11/2012
“Only when we reach for the stars, does the scope of an inclusive school reform becomes clear: We are not talking about an exchange of labels and names, or about sending a couple of students from school X to school Y. Rather, we have a really demanding job ahead of us that will change school entirely. Without quality, it’s all nothing - neither the conditions at school nor the personal efforts.”
Wiltrud Thies, 2012
Since 2004, Wiltrud Thies has been the Head of School at the award-winning Sophie-Scholl-School in Gießen (Germany), an inclusive primary and secondary school with over 400 pupils, among them about 105 children with all types of handicaps. The school started as an inclusive primary school in 1998, and was awarded the nationwide Jakob Muth Prize in 2009, which aims at making best practice examples in inclusive education better known. The school is owned by the Lebenshilfe Gießen, an association for handicapped children and adults.
incluD-ed invited Ms Thies to speak about inclusive education in Germany, about the Sophie-Scholl-School and also the project Sophie-Scholl-Inklusiv, which was created to share the school concept as well as ideas and experiences related to inclusive educational practices.
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incluD-ed: What is the current situation with regard to inclusive education practices and programmes in Germany?
Wiltrud Thies: Joint lessons have existed in Germany for many years now. Initially, the term "integration" was used, which roughly means that a group of “deviators” joins a group of students that are in line with the “norm”. When we talk of inclusion today, we mean a change in the school as a whole, with the principle of ‘all or nothing’: in the inclusive school every child is welcome - regardless of background, abilities, gender ... Schools have to change accordingly, since students that are different require different learning opportunities. In 2009, Germany ratified the UN Disability Rights Convention and since then, there has been some movement in terms of inclusive education. The German states are encouraged to adapt their school legislations to meet the requirements of the UN Convention. They do this - depending on political will - with varying degrees of intensity. Thus, besides real changes there is also a great deal of fraudulent labelling.
incluD-ed: Are inclusive practices supported by politics and society? (If so, how? If not, why not?)
Wiltrud Thies: Actually, this varies a lot. First, two positive examples:
Since 2009, for example, the Jakob Muth Award for inclusive school development has existed. The Award is supported by the Bertelsmann Foundation and by the national government representative for the interests of the disabled. The prize is awarded to schools who set out to make their school more inclusive. The jury correctly uses a very broad concept of "inclusion". It is not just about opening up access to the general education system for children and young people with disabilities, but it has to involve all children and young people who are affected by marginalization - no matter in what way.
Such an award attracts great public attention and is given to schools that serve as role models for other schools in Germany (“lighthouse character”). Each year, the number of applicants is increasing, and this shows that many schools are on track. The steps that are taken towards inclusion are again very different. But as an award-winning school you receive great interest from visitors: many want to see how inclusion is successfully put into practice.
The German UNESCO-Commission, my second example, has set up a group of experts to validate the transformation process of our current education system into an inclusive one. This expert group - supported by the Montag Foundation and the Peter Ustinov Foundation – has advised several educational regions on their way to inclusion. It’s not just schools being addressed individually, but whole cities or regions. It's great that there are forms of support like this.
On the other hand, there lacks a clear agenda that could be carried out by political parties. Too many people still believe that only selective school systems are fair and that excellence and peak performance can only be achieved from schools with homogeneous learning groups. Although sufficient studies have already proved the contrary - politicians and "public opinion" don’t really trust inclusion. Thus, school laws are weak and only partially commit to funding for inclusive education. This means that any reform can be thwarted, with seemingly ‘objective’ difficulties ... In my own state of Hesse, some of the conditions that we once had for "integration" have been worsened in the name of inclusion. There is great anger in the schools that have already been offering inclusive education for many years.
incluD-ed: Are teachers adequately prepared during their training on how to include children with disabilities and learning difficulties? (If so, how? If not, why not?)
Wiltrud Thies: There are, as far as I can tell, definite opportunities in teacher training thatdeal with individual support and that provide practical tools to use in class. We have always known - before the political request for inclusion - that learning groups are heterogeneous. In particular, modern primary school education has always emphasized "diversity" and worked towards it in theory and practice. If we teach inclusive groups, we do not need to develop completely new lessons and teaching methods. We only have to look at which type of instruction is suitable for mixed-ability groups - and which is not.
However, inclusion is not yet an obligatory part of all modules in teacher training. There still has been no change to existing teacher training programmes to ensure that inclusion is always a principal part of it. Thus, the content of the various teacher training modules should change, at least with regard to the target group. Unfortunately, this is the case for training in mainstream education as well as in special education.
incluD-ed: What could and/or should be improved in teacher training in Germany?
Wiltrud Thies: Diagnostics, special needs support and manifold knowledge of methods have to form part of each training course.
Specific knowledge about support methods should not be reserved for the few Special Educational Needs (SEN) teachers. At least in terms of "slow learners" and children with challenging behaviour, all teachers require some knowledge and ideas on how to work with these students.
In addition, it is important that specific special needs knowledge does not get lost when we create general training on inclusive education. There are already many successful examples, such as Swedish teacher training methods.
Click here to read Part 2/3 of the interview with Wiltrud Thies about the Sophie-Scholl-School
