Session Information
WERA SES 05 B, Inclusive Education and Teacher Education, Learning From Each Other
Symposium
Contribution
Today, inclusion in Denmark is no longer just a matter of value and ideology, but also a matter of expectation and policy - and so primarily a matter of implementation at scale. Schools are now expected to provide education that ensures good learning outcomes for all students while fostering social and educational inclusion (with a focus on students’ achievements as well on students’ well-being). This change forces municipalities and schools to work systematically to build the necessary capacity. Danish Teacher Education takes part in this capacity building and is changing due to political reforms towards an emphasis on promoting inclusive learning communities. Earlier, knowledge about special education and inclusive education was taught in a main subject in the former Teacher Education. Today, issues about inclusive education are not organized in a separate subject, but are integrated in all subjects and curricula in the new Teacher Education Reform. That means that competencies in inclusive education are seen as an integrated part of teaching in diverse learning communities. Supporting the process of teacher students’ acquisition of competencies in inclusive education requires focusing on1) ‘differentiated teaching’, i.e. plan, implement and evaluate teaching in subject, taking in account the diversity of students’ abilities, experiences, needs and potential, 2) creating ‘good’ learning communities in the classroom, including general knowledge of inclusion and exclusion mechanisms in school, and 3) training teacher students' skills to conduct structured observations and through analysis of which adjust and develop new initiatives. Another shift is from an emphasis on subject content toward an emphasis on student teachers’ acquisition of professional competencies (including competencies in inclusive education). This involves learning activities in which practice, practicum and theory are related. The ‘traditional’ kind of practicum as a relatively isolated activity is being replaced with new kinds of integrating knowledge from practice in Teacher Education. The aim is to develop new ways of studying and documenting practice in practicum and to theorize, reflect and analyze practice knowledge as a part of Teacher Education. The aim of such activities is to support teacher students to develop competencies in order to deal with complex and shifting learning situations and diverse learning communities. This paper will focus on the process from viewing inclusive education as a ‘separate agenda’ with its own knowledge territory to viewing inclusive education as a general learning culture in schools - and the implications for Teacher Education.
References
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