Demand-oriented and fair allocation of special needs teacher resources for inclusive education – Assessment of a newly implemented funding model in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Abstract

ABSTRACT For the 2014/15 school year, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has changed its funding model for the provision of special needs teacher resources from an input-based to a throughput-based model. The rationale was that the previous input-funded system was assumed to be the cause for the increasing number of students diagnosed with special educational needs (SEN). Due to a persistent shortage of qualified teachers, a transitional regulation was put into force. In this study, the impact of the new funding model is assessed with regard to two interrelated criteria: demand-orientation and fairness. Data is based on the official school statistics of North Rhine-Westphalia and corresponding data on the proportion of special needs teacher positions allocated to each school for the 2014/15 school year. The results show that the new model does not satisfy the necessary criteria as there is a notable lack in the provision indicating a low level of demand-orientation. A total of 339 schools (1.9%) that are attended by students with SEN have not been provided with special needs teacher resources. Regarding matters of procedural and horizontal fairness, the distribution measures show that the special needs teacher resources are not equally available to all students with SEN.