Becoming an inclusive teacher: reducing gaps in theory and practice through inclusive research

Abstract

ABSTRACT The course ‘Inclusive Education’ at the University of Vienna (UV) serves as a microcosm of national and international discourses. Policies such as the UN-CRPD run counter to established school systems and the latest developments in federal and state legislation. Against this backdrop, a small-scale study has been conducted to (a) examine the situation of pre-service teachers in inclusive education and (b) contextualise this against the experiences of self-advocating former special-school pupils, namely persons with learning difficulties who politically speak up for their own rights. Nine interviews (seven with pre-service teachers and two with self-advocates) have been analysed using Situational Analysis. An inclusive research approach has been applied at every step of the research process. Findings show that pre-service teachers tend to get lost in the tension between their vision of inclusive education and the reality of special education. In this situation, self-advocates serve as allies who help to overcome these barriers through constant exchange. Since this inclusive research approach exists in academic teaching, a shift from inclusion in theory to inclusion in practice might be introduced to synthesise theory and practice.