After having had three decades of experience with integrating children with special educational needs into mainstream schools, Austria is currently shifting from integration to full inclusion, starting in pilot regions, as many other European countries already had done before. In 2014, up to 85% of pupils with special educational needs were already integrated in mainstream classes. The step towards a fully inclusive system seems rather small from this administrative data.

Many previous studies (e.g. Acedo, Ferrer & Pàmies, 2009; de Boer, Pijl & Minnaert, 2011; Eberwein & Knauer, 2009; Urton, 2014; Gebhardt et al., 2015) showed that attitudes of teachers as well as other persons involved have a major effect on the success of inclusion. In a research project on the implementation of an inclusive system, a survey among key persons in the field of integration/inclusion was done about their attitudes, expectations and subjective notions and connotations about inclusion. The broader context of this research lies in the formative evaluation of inclusive pilot regions in Austria. Key persons were defined as actors in the field having decision making power inside and outside the school system. In concrete, school principals, school inspectors as well as local managers and co-ordinators of supporting institutions – mostly NGOs – were asked to complete an online questionnaire with Likert-type and open ended questions. In addition, a short version of a semantic differential was used.

The theoretical framework is based on research on the influence of attitudes on decision making. The key persons in the sample are insofar crucial for the success of inclusion, as they decide on concrete actions taking on teacher and school level as opposed to political decisions on a rather abstract level.

Acedo, C., Ferrer, F./ Pàmies, J. (2009). Inclusive education: Open debates and the road ahead. Prospects, 39 (3), 227-238. Bless, G. (1995): Zur Wirksamkeit der Integration. Bern: Haupt. Chapman, C., Ainscow, M., Miles, S. and West, M. (2011). Leadership that promotes the achievement of students with special educational needs and disabilities. Nottingham: National College for School Leadership. de Boer, A., Pijl, S. P. /Minnaert A. (2011). Regular primary schoolteachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education. A review of the literature, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15 (3), 331-353. Dyson, A. ( I999). Inclusion and inclusions: Theories and discourses in inclusive education. In H. Daniels & P. Gamer (Eds.), World yearbook of education 1999: Inclusive education (S. 36-53). London: Kogan. Dyson, A. (2010). Die Entwicklung inklusiver Schulen: Drei Perspektiven aus England. DDS- Die Deutsche Schule, 102(2), 115-129. Eberwein, H./Knauer, S. (Eds.) (2009): Handbuch Integrationspädagogik. Weinheim: Beltz. European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2014). Five Key Messages for Inclusive Education. Putting Theory into Practice. Odense, Denmark: European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Gebhardt, M./Schwab, S./Nusser, L./Hessels M.G.P. (2015): Einstellungen und Selbstwirksamkeit von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern zur schulischen Inklusion in Deutschland – eine Analyse mit Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels Deutschlands (NEPS). In: Empirische Pädagogik, 2015, 29 (2), 211-229. Kunz, A., Luder, R. & Moretti, M. (2010). Die Messung von Einstellungen zur Integration (EZI). Empirische Sonderpädagogik, 3, 8-94. Mitchell, D. (Ed.) (2009). Contextualizing inclusive education. Evaluation old and new international perspectives. London: Routledge. Snider, J. G., and Osgood, C. E. (1969) Semantic Differential Technique: A Sourcebook. Chicago: Aldine. Urton, Karolina; Wilbert, Jürgen; Hennemann, Thomas (2014). Der Zusammenhang zwischen der Einstellung zur Integration und der Selbstwirksamkeit von Schulleitungen und deren Kollegien - In: Empirische Sonderpädagogik 6 (1), 3-16.