Survey Reveals Teachers' Thoughts on School Inclusion in Germany
Majority of Educators Favor School Inclusion: Results Indicate 62% Support for Inclusion within Educational Institutions - Strong survey outcomes reveal a majority of educators (62%) advocating for inclusive school environments.
It seems like a majority of educators in Germany are on board with the concept of inclusion in schools — that's according to a recent survey by the VBE. But as it turns out, only a quarter of them actually find joint teaching of kids with and without disabilities practical. This figure, interestingly, was slightly higher than the previous survey conducted in 2020.
The VBE has cited several reasons for this apparent mismatch in belief and practice — lack of staff, large class sizes, and insufficient individual support being the main culprits.
When you dive a little deeper, 43% of educators believe inclusion to be generally beneficial but prefer special needs schools at the moment. A slightly smaller group, 34%, are not fans of the inclusion ideology and support the preservation of special needs schools.
Interestingly, 41% of educators work in schools that lack barrier-free access. This figure was highest in Berlin, where an astonishing 50% of teachers reported such issues. On the flip side, this number was the lowest in Bavaria, where only 30% reported the same. According to Tomi Neckov, the deputy federal chairman of VBE, this lack of access affects not just children with disabilities but also their parents and educators, conflicting with the constitutional right to participate and free choice of profession.
Neckov stressed that inclusion can only succeed if it's adequately supported. He pointed out that, while there's been some improvement since the 2020 survey, it's not enough to satisfy the majority of educators, with nearly half expressing dissatisfaction, and over a third being extremely dissatisfied with their state's inclusion policy. He went on to list more staff, more qualifications, more collaboration time, and finally barrier-free schools as what he and his colleagues are demanding.
The VBE interviewed 2737 teachers for this survey, which was part of a series of similar surveys conducted in 2015, 2017, and 2020.
While the provided search results don't offer a detailed account of the issues and opinions regarding inclusion specifically in Berlin, we can draw someparallels from related topics:
- The Global Disability Summit 2025, held in Berlin, highlighted the necessity of inclusive education and called for greater investment in inclusive policies and programs.
- Managing diverse classrooms, including immigrant and second-language learners, has emerged as a significant challenge for teachers who struggle to provide individualized attention and support.
- There's a growing trend of integrating AI tools into classroom instruction to create more engaging and inclusive lessons.
- Increasing advocacy for inclusive education can be witnessed through the participation of organizations and individuals in international summits like the Global Disability Summit, with a focus on ensuring students with disabilities are fully integrated into educational settings.
- In light of the survey's findings on school inclusion in Germany, it appears that the VBE could consider advocating for community policy initiatives that focus on vocational training for teachers to better equip them with the skills necessary to effectively include children with disabilities in their classrooms.
- With politics often playing a significant role in education, it's important for general news outlets to report on the ongoing discussions surrounding inclusive education, such as the demand from the VBE for more staff, qualifications, and barrier-free schools, as these issues intersect with education-and-self-development, particularly for children with disabilities.
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