Inclusion in Vocational Schools in Lower Saxony: The Regional Differentiation of Target Groups, Educational Culture and Action Concepts
In Lower Saxony, the mixed class instruction of students with and without special educational needs has always been a feature of preparation courses for vocational training. For this reason alone, vocational schools are probably the only branch of education with implicit experience of inclusion. As a result of the inclusion process, they are faced with the task of preparing an ever larger share of share of students with special educational needs for the regular (unsubsidised) employment and training markets. However, this task is highly complex. There are disparities between the regions to which the quotas of students with special educational needs apply. This indicates the existence of specific target groups and educational cultures, which the challenge of inclusive vocational education must take into account.
This contribution sets out to investigate the different conditions and, based on this, to formulate differentiated requirements and solutions. It draws on the core findings of the research accompanying the project "Participation and Inclusion in the Transition from School to Work in the Model Region Lüneburg" (Teilhabe und Inklusion im Übergang Schule-Beruf Modellregion Lüneburg [TIM]), which ran from 2013 to 2015 and was funded by the ESF and the Land of Lower Saxony.
First of all, an inclusion-specific area typology is developed on the basis of regional and supraregional data analyses. This is then contrasted with the structural features of the target groups, which have been identified with quantitative instruments, and the expectations and experiences of teachers at three schools used as examples. On the basis of information obtained from narrative interviews and ethno-graphic exploration, the contribution proceeds to describe educational cultures and planned inclusion projects. Finally, transferable recommendations are made on the basis of ethnographic observations.
