Inclusive Learning and Educational Equity 5

UDL
DI
SZD
Prerequisite Design of learning 
environment
Response to individual
Holistic perspective (beyond 
specific environment)
Goal of 
instruction
Instruction < > predictable, 
systematic learner 
variability
Individual (learning) 
needs
Child/child’s environment
Stance
Proactive
Responsive
Spontaneous and based on 
localized context and 
circumstances of the child
Fig. 11.6 Spectrum of approaches to learners and learning environments
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neuropedagogy and overlaps with individualized instruction (Inklusive Didaktik), 
they proved eager to engage in supporting the realization of inclusive education. 
The collaborating school also reported that it welcomed the support from the teacher 
trainees and the opportunity to receive guidance on how best to reflect on their 
teaching practices and observe examples from other countries. Likewise, the 
researchers appreciated the opportunity that was afforded them to work at eye level 
with a partner school and develop user-oriented solutions. Similar project-related 
opportunities for teacher trainees with respect to in-service training should be 
emphasized in teacher training programs.
The same holds true for the implementation of sustainable new approaches to 
teaching and learning at school. It seems to be essential that teachers who are 
involved in and knowledgeable about the respective contexts become more engaged 
in introducing and bringing these processes to fruition.
4. Localized practices
The need to consider localized contexts as being relevant and important has already 
been mentioned. Additionally, in the case of SZD, what was helpful was a specific 
flexibility with the curriculum which can be considered as a framework (German: 
Rahmenlehrplan). This implies that by the end of a particular school year specific 
teaching and learning goals have to be reached or topics touched upon regardless of 
the exact timeline and approach. Subjects can be renamed in the specific school con-
text. This allows flexibility on the part of the teachers to focus on, for example, job 
coaching, social skills, etc., should the need arise. This also enables a context to dis-
cuss problems with students as and when they occur. In turn, this underlines the 
importance of personal engagement and the contextualization of national school sys-
tem structures or even specific schools when implementing teaching approaches.
The goal behind our study was to promote (more) child-centered and therefore 
inclusive education and to act as catalysts toward change at SZD. This goal was 
developed in a joint process of the participatory research team, with teachers from 
SZD playing a leading role in defining the aims of the study. As previously described 
in the methodology and methods section, our study, according to the chosen 
(Critical) Participatory Action research approach, can and should be considered as 
political, meaning that it was not value-free in the sense that it was constantly con-
cerned with the interests of all the actors at SZD (Armstrong & Moore, 
2019
). All 
the research questions were codeveloped by the practitioner-researchers; the pri-
mary driving force behind the research process was the interest of the teachers 
themselves in researching their own practices (see Kemmis et al., 
2014
). Our goal 
was to collectively change the particular social world of and at SZD by “thinking 
about it differently, acting differently, and relating to one another differently – by 
constructing other practice architectures to enable and constrain their practice in 
ways that are more rational (in the sense of reasonable), more productive, and more 
just and inclusive” (ibid, 17). And this is what we tried to do. We would like to end 
on a hopeful, visionary note as expressed by one of the collaborating teachers:
Sabine: Inclusion is an attitude that needs to be filled with life. If this is the case, the orien-
tation of the institution will automatically follow.
M. Proyer et al.

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