Inclusive Education at Lower Secondary Schools
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Profile
- Project leadership
- Reto Luder (PHZH), André Kunz (PHZH), Gérard Bless
- Project team
- Ariane Paccaud, Giuliana Pastore (PHZH)
- Organisational unit
- F-BW-IGS (Inklusion und Gesundheit in der Schule)
- Project phase
- Completed (1.11.2019 – 31.10.2023)
- Project type
- Research & development project
- Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation
- Participating institutions
- Universität Freiburg, Heilpädagogisches Institut
Description
The focus is placed on the interrelationship between implementing inclusive education strategies and the pupils’ emotional and social integration in the classroom as well as their self-image with regard to their scholastic achievement.
The inclusive classroom setting for pupils with special education needs is increasingly common worldwide – also in the Swiss school system. Most research in this area focuses on the kindergarten and primary school levels; the situation at secondary schools has only rarely been studied. In this life phase, however, the school setting has a particularly significant impact on the psycho-social and cognitive development of adolescents with special needs. Indeed, secondary schools are challenging due to the volume of learning content, the imminent transition into professional life and difficult outside circumstances that complicate the introduction of inclusive interventions.
The project aim is to investigate the strategies that promote the inclusion of young people with special education needs (SEN) at lower secondary schools. To gather data on inclusion at secondary schools, the project team has been observing pupils and their families (N=62) at secondary schools in German- and French-speaking Switzerland, beginning already at the third primary level. Interviews will be held with participating adolescents and their parents, their teachers, other school professionals and their classmates (N=1488). The project focuses on the connections and interrelationships between implementing inclusive special needs education strategies and the pupils’ emotional and social integration in the classroom as well as their self-image with regard to their scholastic achievement.
The study is the first in Switzerland to track and analyse the educational trajectories of SEN pupils in inclusive classrooms at lower secondary schools in a detailed long-term longitudinal study based on the methodology of qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires.
Project outcomes
Inclusive special educational support is increasingly being implemented in the Swiss school system. The secondary level has so far received little attention. However, schools have a significant influence on the development of young people with special educational needs (SEN) at this stage in particular. In addition, more demanding framework conditions (such as extensive learning material, more complex organisation of lessons and the imminent transition to working life) make secondary school challenging for the implementation of inclusive support.
Inclusive support in 45 schools from 15 cantons was studied over several years with 55 children and their families. The young people concerned and their parents, teachers and other school specialists as well as their classmates were surveyed (N=815). The questions concern the measures for inclusive interventions, the integration achieved through these measures, the participation and satisfaction of young people and their parents with the school situation as well as their wishes and prospects for the future at school.
Implementation of inclusive support at secondary level
There is great diversity in the organisation of inclusive support in Switzerland. At one end of the spectrum are schools that do not form stable performance groups at all and deliberately focus on a heterogeneous mix of learners. At the opposite end of the spectrum are schools that focus on forming stable, homogeneous performance groups as early as possible (e.g. small classes and secondary A, B and C). The analyses show that these selective forms of organisation have a negative impact on the development of students’ academic self-concept, while more inclusive models support the positive development of academic self-concept. Thus, inclusive models appear to be better for all pupils, while selective models are less supportive.
Special support status as a burden
The quantitative results of the study show that pupils with SEN at lower secondary level are less well integrated into their class than their peers without special needs status. In addition to the support status, the classroom climate and the teacher’s ability to design inclusive lessons proved to be key factors influencing successful integration. In the longitudinal section over the entire three years of secondary school, there was an overall deterioration in social integration. The strongest decline occurred during the first year of secondary school. It is possible that the more demanding framework conditions at secondary level, such as a stronger focus on performance, more complex organisation and denser learning material, as well as fewer resources for integrative support, have an aggravating effect here.
The relationship with the teacher is important
The quality of the relationship with the teacher plays a key role in successful integration. Three different types of relationship were described in the project:
- Positive relationship type: The teacher is experienced as sympathetic and supportive. The teacher is an important, sometimes even central mentor. Pupils experience interest in the school material, noticeable progress in learning and a feeling of progress. They experience a climate of trust, where solidarity prevails instead of competition and pressure to perform.
- Neutral-ambivalent relationship type: The teacher is experienced as friendly but distant, rather strict and not very stimulating. This leads to a feeling of insecurity among pupils: they do not dare to ask for support or confide in the teacher when they are under pressure.
- Negative relationship type: The teacher is perceived as overly strict, ignorant and destructive. The students experience a fundamental lack of interest in them and their well-being on the part of the teacher. This makes pupils feel uncomfortable or even anxious. They report disciplinary problems in the respective classes and an overall negative class climate in which they feel poorly integrated and stressed.
What constitutes good cooperation between schools and families
For most parents, the desire for their child’s well-being and life satisfaction is paramount, while the specific profession, the associated social status or financial prospects are given less weight. This also includes accepting their child for who they are, not just focusing on their deficits but also seeing their strengths. However, parents of young people with SEN also have many concerns about their children’s professional future. This includes the question of whether their children will enter the primary labor market.
In addition to the quality of the support measures, communication is a key issue for parents: it should be simple, clear and effective, both between the school and the parents and within the school. It is also important for them to be informed and listened to, to be able to express their opinion and participate in decisions.