The human rights agreement of non-discriminatory education based on equal opportunities for all young persons (see United Nations 1989, art. 28) was reinforced in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations 2006) requiring an inclusive education system (art. 24). In regards to its implementation, states are facing different, often nationally specific challenges. In Germany, for example, developments towards inclusive education collide with a long-established selective school system and practices of school referrals reproducing social hierarchies. Based on scientific evidence, school referrals primarily depend on students’ social backgrounds (see Solga/Dombrowski 2009). Such processes of institutional as well as personal discrimination profoundly contradict with attempts to develop a more inclusive system.

Inclusion is predominantly associated with an increased need for support due to presumed and ascribed individual deficits. In contrast, focussing on students’ learning capacities and individual strengths to support high achievements is part of another discourse: i.e. education for so-called “gifted students”.

Current approaches to education for “gifted students” predominantly use concepts of ability from social sciences, which recognise all students – instead of a few – as having individual and unlimited capacities to learn. This matches some research on inclusion which aims to develop approaches to increase all students’ individual and unlimited learning capacities and to continuously raise achievements based on high expectations of every person. In addition, a distinct aim of inclusive education is to increase everybody’s participation.

The research project “High achievements included” (Karg-Foundation/Senatorial government agency Bremen Germany) is one of the first projects, that combines approaches to education for “gifted students” and inclusive education to explore ways to raise high achievements for all. The qualitative study was carried out in two schools located in socially deprived areas. It explored how approaches to education for “gifted students” can be part of inclusive classroom practices as a resource to increase all students’ individual learning capacities and achievements. This included analyses of concepts of ability and learning capacity applied in the two schools in regards to their influence on teaching and learning practices. Furthermore, the study investigated what impact this could have for inclusive developments on institutional level, i.e. for the school, and even broader, for the development of an inclusive education system (see Seitz et al. 2015).

During our presentation, we would like to introduce selected research findings in relation to a philosophy of teaching and learning called “Learning without Limits” (Hart et al. 2004; Swann et al. 2012), developed in England, which supports practices of learning and teaching based on the idea of every student’s unlimited learning capacities and thereby rejecting the idea of fixed ability.

By applying this English-German perspective, we aim to increase our understanding and reflection of national as well as international educational practices, their underlying concepts of ability and learning capacities.

This European perspective in our presentation is meant as starting point for an international dialogue with the audience on educational practices and related concepts of ability and learning capacity in other education systems and to identify international as well as regional and national practices. In addition, it is intended to explore strategies to link the discourses on education for “gifted students” with “inclusive education” from an international perspectives.

Hart, Susan; Dixon, Annabelle; Drummond, Mary Jane; McIntyre, Donald (2004): Learning without Limits. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press Seitz, Simone; Pfahl, Lisa; Lassek, Maresi; Rastede, Michaela; Steinhaus, Friederike (2015): Hochbegabung inklusive. Inklusion als Impuls für Begabungsförderung an Schulen. Weinheim: Beltz Solga, Heike/ Dombrowski, Rosine (2009): Soziale Ungleichheiten in schulischer und außerschulischer Bildung. Stand der Forschung und Forschungsbedarf. Düsseldorf: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. Swann, Mandy; Peacock, Dame Alison; Hart, Susan; Drummond, Mary Jane (2012): Creating Learning without Limits. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press United Nations (1989): Convention on the Rights of the child. UNCHR. Available online at: http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx [Accessed 18th January 2016]. United Nations (2006): Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Available online at: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml [Accessed 18th January 2016].