Since the introduction of the subject work/business studies in 1998, increased importance is put on the preparation of future teachers within the range of career orientation of young people during the basic secondary school teacher training for secondary modern schools and secondary schools for ages 10-16 at German universities. This has above all two reasons. On the one hand, the subject career preparation is treated now mainly in the subject of business studies - before the topic was interdisciplinary integrated. On the other hand, future teachers are to concentrate more on this topic, in order to be more open to the problems of young people with special needs during the process of choosing a career. Some students were not able to collect experience in the context of pre-vocational training during their grammar school time and should, at the latest, be prepared during their academic training. Here, there is the added difficulty that pupils can be described as very heterogeneous. Different cultures, ethnic origins, conditions for learning, and socio-cultural as well as anthropogenic conditions are found particularly in secondary modern schools, which are seen as melting pots for disadvantaged children. Additionally, the transfer of the working world into the classroom can be identified as a further problem field. The complexity of this life and working world must be reduced for teaching processes to a modelled form. Therefore, the following questions arise: How can the university degree relay the pre-vocational training to schools content-wise and methodically? How can the heterogeneity of the culturally different pupils be integrated as a future training challenge with this relaying? Due to the highly practical approach which can be achieved by the application of school companies this method is becoming even more popular. Miller calls school companies “real practice companies”, which really operate in the market. They work with genuine products and capital. Therefore, the pupils are requested to assume autonomous tasks in the individual divisions of their school company project and accomplish these independently. Nevertheless, this complex task is for many teachers a great challenge, also for pupils with special needs. Therefore, it is the role of the school to prepare the children accordingly for this task. And the university teacher training starts exactly here: Through the input of students in the preparation process of the school company project at schools, small group work with the pupils is possible. Thereby, individual support is possible from the students and the individual young people can focus on the forthcoming tasks. At this point the management concept becomes important. Similar to the modelling of an enterprise described before, also this concept is simulated and adapted to the given basic conditions. Here, it is to be considered that a very heterogeneous working group is concentrated upon, who’s potential – namely diversity – has to be used. Therefore, it is ideal to use the management concept “Managing Diversity” – in lessons in the context of the school company. In the context of teaching, this management approach can be used however only conditionally. Through support of the class teacher, different pupil potentials can be analyzed and determined beforehand. According to the qualification profile, fits can be made to the department requirements. Besides, the pupils can complement each other in the context of working together in the departments through their individual abilities and strengths. Through the support of the students through the departmental care, these experience early on that a heterogeneous target group of pupils are not always difficult to teach, but the diverging individuals in a setting, like that of the school company, can be profitable and effective for the project success.

The simulation-processes are analyzed trough participant observation. Afterwards completed observation forms have to be evaluated. This evaluation leads to the optimization of the concept.

As a result of the application of this concept the students are sensitized for the concept of Managing Diversity and the vantages of action-orientated methods. Especially pupils with special need benefit from this increased awareness as their individual potentials can be easier discovered and developed. This concept has various fields of application as it is an international and interdisciplinary idea.