Inclusion and health in schools

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Four people are sitting at a round table. They are working in pairs on computers.

The key tasks of inclusion and health in schools involve focusing on achieving equal opportunities, empowerment and participation. The overriding goal is to relieve some of the pressure on the school system as a whole and build up human and social resources to strengthen the response to challenging situations. A biopsychosocial approach to health and special educational needs is at the heart of this work. In other words, biomedical, psychological and social aspects – and their impact on each other – are taken into account.

The Centre for Inclusion and Health in Schools at PH Zurich is tackling these issues. The staff there are experts in matters relating to inclusion and health promotion in schools.

Interdisciplinary approach

The approach taken towards inclusion and health in schools ensures that research is both innovative and interdisciplinary. This work helps identify the factors defining an inclusive and healthy school. That is to say, a school that does all it can to promote the health, well-being, motivation and performance of everyone in the school setting, while taking into account and supporting the development, learning and behavioural needs of individual pupils along the way.

Research focuses

Inclusion and Health in Schools maintains a balance between research and development work in its projects. Its activities focus on the school setting on three levels.

Inclusion and health for pupils

Research at the level of individual pupils focuses on health promotion and prevention, the integration of children and young people into school and the promotion of interdisciplinary competencies.

Health for teaching staff and other school stakeholders

When it comes to teaching staff and other school stakeholders, the priority is building up staff resources in a school and equipping them to face challenges with a positive mindset.

Schools as organisations

Looking at schools as organisations, research is conducted into the structures and conditions required to facilitate inclusion and health promotion for the benefit of everyone in the school setting. For example, research looking at teamwork at schools and its impact on inclusion and health for everyone involved is underway. As educational leaders, headteachers are an important target group as regards achieving sustainable implementation, making them key partners in the school setting.

Other projects

Publications

Kirchhoff, Esther (2025) Suchtprävention bei jungen Menschen mit und ohne Beeinträchtigungen.
Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Heilpädagogik 31 (6): 14–19.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17287375
Nievergelt, Mirjam, Reto Luder, André Kunz and Carolin Corrado (2025) Erweiterte Lernorte im Regelschulsetting: Grundlegende Überlegungen und ein Beispiel einer Umsetzung.
Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Heilpädagogik 31(3): 31–37.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17201209
Pastore, Giuliana, Wassilis Kassis, André Kunz and Reto Luder (2025) Patterns of Student Socio-Emotional Development and Teacher-Student-Relationship-Quality for High-School Students with and without Special Educational Needs: A Multigroup Latent Transition Analysis Approach for Low and High Selective Schools.
Frontiers in Education 10: 1619529.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16410933

Hart, Lara, Roger Keller and Sonja Perren (2024) Differentielle Effekte eines Präventionsprojektes zur Stärkung der Lebenskompetenzen von Kindergartenkindern.
Kindheit und Entwicklung 33 (2): 103–10.
Keller, Roger (2024) Peer Education.
In: Leitbegriffe der Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention. Glossar zu Konzepten, Strategien und Methoden, hrsg. v. Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA): Köln.
Kirchhoff, Esther, Roger Keller and Barbara Blanc (2024) Empowering young people – the impact of camp experiences on personal resources, well-being, and community building.
Frontiers in Psychology 15: 1–14.
Luder, Reto, Mirjam Nievergelt, Roger Keller and André Kunz (2024) Was heisst hier Gewalt? Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Gewaltverständnis von Lehrpersonen.
Vierteljahresschrift für Heilpädagogik und ihre Nachbargebiete 93: 201–13.
Paccaud, Ariane, Giuliana Pastore, André Kunz and Reto Luder (2024) Integrated During Middle School? Challenges, Facilitators and Obstacles from the Perspective of Parents of Young People Identified as Having Special Educational Needs.
Swiss Journal of Educational Research 46 (1): 2–15.
Schoch, Simone and Roger Keller (2024) Lehrpersonen im Fokus: Ansätze zur Förderung von Gesundheit und Leistungsfähigkeit.
Beiträge zur Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung 42 (1): 32–46.
Schoch, Simone and Roger Keller (2024) Transformationale Führung im Schulkontext: Wahrnehmung organisatorischer Rahmenbedingungen, Befriedigung des Autonomiebedürfnisses und emotionale Erschöpfung von Lehrpersonen.
DDS – Die Deutsche Schule 116 (4): 352–65.

Kunz, André, Ariane Paccaud, Giuliana Pastore and Reto Luder (2023) Übergang von der Primar- in die Sekundarstufe I von Schüler:innen mit besonderem Förderbedarf.
Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Heilpädagogik 29 (8): 46–52.
Kunz, André, Ariane Paccaud, Giuliana Pastore and Reto Luder (2023) Transition entre l’école primaire et secondaire pour les élèves ayant des besoins éducatifs particuliers.
Revue suisse de pédagogie spécialisée 13 (3): 43–49.
Pool Maag, Silvia and Reto Jäger (2023) Diversität in der Berufsbildung in Österreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz – Perspektiven aus Forschung, Entwicklung und Bildungspraxis.
Bwp, Spezial PH-AT2: 1–20.
Schoch, Simone, Roger Keller, Jasper Maas, Pamela Rackow, Urte Scholz, Julia Schüler and Mirko Wegner (2023) Transformationale Führung und positive Emotionen bei Lehrpersonen – die Rolle der sozialen Unterstützung und der psychologischen Bedürfnisbefriedigung.
Empirische Pädagogik 37 (2): 192–210.
Luder, Reto and Mirjam Nievergelt (2023) Massgeschneiderte Medien: Adaptive Diagnostik und Förderung in der Sonderpädagogik. Rahmenmodell und Übersicht zur Diagnostik und Förderung in der Sonderpädagogik mit neuen Medien.
In: Schulische Medienbildung und Digitalisierung im Kontext von Behinderung und Benachteiligung, hrsg. v. Joachim Betz und Jan-René Schluchter, 242–61. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa.
Pastore, Giuliana (2023) Beziehungsqualität und Integration.
Dissertation. Universität Freiburg (Schweiz).

Luder, Reto, André Kunz and Roger Keller (2022) Editorial: Inclusive Healthy Schools.
Frontiers in Education 6:834359.
DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2021.834359
Nievergelt, Mirjam, Roger Keller, Reto Luder, Carlo Fabian and André Kunz (2022) Bedarfsabklärung “Gewaltprävention und -intervention an Schulen”.
Schlussbericht.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6603001

Kirchhoff, Esther and Roger Keller (2021) Age-Specific Life Skills Education in School: A Systematic Review.
Frontiers in Education, 6(660878), 1–15.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5883446
Kunz, André, Reto Luder and Wassilis Kassis (2021) Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Inclusion of Student Teachers and Their Contact With People With Disabilities.
Frontiers in Education, 6(650326), 1–13.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6024466
Paccaud, Ariane, Roger Keller, Reto Luder, Giuliana Pastore and André Kunz (2021) Satisfaction With the Collaboration Between Families and Schools – The Parent’s View.
Frontiers in Education, 6(646878), 1–13.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6024600