Diversity in the school setting is a common reality – and diversity offers the opportunity to enrich our lives through exposure to people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Based on the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), Germany is committed to establish an inclusive educational system and to respond to such diversity in an appropriate way.

The in-depth and advanced understanding of inclusion means that all people – irrespective of their gender, disability, race, special learning needs, social- or socio-economic conditions – have equal access to high-quality education and are able to fully develop and reach their potential. Educational systems must therefore be structured towards meeting and adapting to the necessities of the learners. Inclusion processes center the different needs of all participating learners and understand diversity as a chance for learning- and educational processes (UNESCO 2012, p. 10).

This does not solely refer to individual support for children and adolescents, but is also the analysis and adaptation of inclusion- and exclusion mechanisms on a societal level.

To reach this, the following is required:

Well-grounded pedagogical concepts
Vision and commitment of technical staff from the educational- and social sector
Regional- and trans-regional development- and change processes

For this reason, the nationwide network School for All was established in 2015. The network is targeted at committed individuals from across all societal fields that perceive and understand their societal responsibility for education and equality. The aim is to initiate a School for All movement.

In three model regions we test - based on the regional project coordination positions (IN VIA Freiburg, IN VIA Quakenbrück, Caritasverband Essen) - different procedures for the initiation and design of regional development processes in the meaning of the community organization. A minimum of 30 schools will apply to the School for All approach and will concurrently suggest regional development towards a more inclusive educational system.

MSH Medical School Hamburg provides scientific support for this three year long process through formative evaluation approaches.

Part of the evaluation are index numbers for the assessment of structural- and end-result quality, as well as subjective assessment of regional actors that can be collected through qualitative interviews and focus groups. We can then draw from these findings and present optimal conditions for the implementation of a School for All approach.

Furthermore, we support regional coordinating bodies to develop appropriate procedures for the conduct of a structured survey as a self-evaluation (e.g. student satisfaction, teacher satisfaction, satisfaction of network partners etc.).

Findings of this data collection and –analysis will be presented back to the project actors. This includes technical comments and a summary of the joint discussions of consequences for further project development.

Duration: 2016 – 2017

Principal Investigator: Professor Dr Thorsten Bührmann

Co-Investigator: Ulrike Schmidt, Dipl.-Päd. (equiv M.A. Ed.)

Research Assistant: Sarah Persicke, Student of Social Work

The scientific services are supported by IN VIA Deutschland e.V. with funding provided by Aktion Mensch Stiftung.