Abstract
Inclusive education for persons with disabilities, although an internationally recognized human right, is far from being fully and adequately implemented. Since this crucial human right does not only apply to citizens, the lack of implementation holds true for refugees, too. Therefore, the present research elaborates on the extent to which the right to inclusive education is ensured for refugee children with disabilities in Berlin as well as on the obstacles and challenges with regard to access to this right. The theoretical basis of this research is formed by an outline and discussion of the manifold legal frameworks on different relevant levels of law and is contextualized by pertinent key concepts. Shedding light on the discrepancy between theory and practice, problem-centered expert interviews with six social workers in Berlin were conducted. These interviews were evaluated and analyzed according to the so-called Grounded Theory. It will be shown that apart from structural shortcomings and resource shortages, the parents' capacity is one of the decisive aspects on which the prospects of inclusive schooling depend on. Within this context, the research focuses on the parent's capacity in terms of, inter alia, knowledge about the education and support system and their personal conditions in either facilitating or constraining their children's access to inclusive education as well as on the importance of social worker's support and consultation measures which aim at strengthening the parent's capacity. Interestingly, this approach shifts away the focus from accusations on a structural level of policymaking to suggestions of improving low-threshold support systems.
Highlights
The inflationary use of homogenizing terms like “the refugees”1 and ‘the wave of refugees’ suggest otherwise, people seeking asylum constitute a very heterogeneous group
Causal Conditions: Structural Shortcomings and Lacking Resources. Those conditions impeding access to inclusive education for refugee children with disabilities can be identified on a structural level
Aiming to provide for an understanding of the extent to which the right to inclusive education for refugee children with disabilities is ensured in Berlin, the research has displayed a high-contrast situation
Summary
The inflationary use of homogenizing terms like “the refugees” and ‘the wave of refugees’ suggest otherwise, people seeking asylum constitute a very heterogeneous group. In particular the latter—education, or in the case of persons with disabilities, inclusive education5—is of outmost importance This holds especially true, since education is “integral to the full and effective realization of other rights” The right to education for everyone is enshrined in several legal documents it is far from being fully realized in Germany: Despite Germany’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2009, the inclusion rate— indicating the share of pupils with special educational needs being educated at a regular school—still amounts nationwide to 37.7% (in Germany’s capital Berlin to 60.4%) In its Concluding Observations (CO) on the initial report of Germany from 2015, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD Comm.) expressed considerable concern about “an education system where the majority of students with disabilities attend segregated special-needs schools” (United Nations, 2015, para. 45)
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