Introduction:

Inclusion is a fairly new, challenging and sometimes confusing concept. Not only in Austria, but also in other countries of the world, it raises many discussions. Since Austria has signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Optional Protocols in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the school system is trying to head towards an inclusive education system.

Teachers play an important role in implementing inclusive education, but international and Austrian researches mention the lack of appropriate training and skills for teachers to manage inclusive classes (Feyerer et al. 2005; Pijl 2010). Pre-service as well as in-service teachers will have to be equipped with the right skills and tools in order to be able to deal with inclusive education.

The English and German literature discusses different approaches and paradigms to teachers’ professionalism (Sachs 2016; Mentor et al. 2010; Terhart 2011). The concept of the transformative teacher and the professional biographical approach put teachers at the centre and encourage them to be pro-active in shaping professionalism. This research follows the professional biographical approach, which is closely related to Bildung, Bildungsgangforschung and developmental tasks (Entwicklungsaufgaben).

Bildung is understood as a social process that allows the learner to develop him or herself through for instance crises, regressions, and developmental shifts. Meyer (2010) explains that Bildungsgangforschung contains two fundamental meanings: (1) learner development and (2) educational experience the learner has out of and in school. Therefore he translates it as research on ‘learner development and educational experience’. Kraler (2012) describes it as ‘research on the course of education’. The emphasis of Bildungsgangforschung is on the perspective of the learner (Kunze/Trautmann/Meyer 2010). Students as well as teachers are learners. Thus, teachers also have to cope with developmental tasks (Meyer 2010).

The concept of developmental tasks comes from the American sociologist and educationalist Havighurst (1972) who devised the concept of developmental stages and tasks from infant hood to old age. Hericks (2006: 92) has identified four developmental tasks which pre- and in-service teachers in their first years of teaching are confronted with: (1) The development of competence; (2) the development of the ability to mediate or transfer acquired knowledge and competence to others (3) the development of the ability to acknowledge the student’s otherness (4) the development of the ability to interact within the school system. This research aims at finding out how these developmental tasks are given shape in relation to inclusive education for subject teachers of academic secondary schools in Vienna, Austria.

Focus of the study:

Previous international studies point out that more research needs to be done in order to hear the voice of teachers and to learn from their experiences (Forlin 2012; Biewer, Böhm and Schütz 2015). This research wants to contribute to giving the teaching profession a voice in order ‘to be the author of its own identity or professional narrative’ (Sachs 2000: 159). In addition, in general and in particular in Austria, there is a need for research about teachers’ professional development in relation to inclusive education at secondary school level. Through my research I would like to find out (1) which developmental tasks subject teachers of integration classes in academic secondary schools in Vienna define in relation to inclusive education and/or integration and (2) what inclusive education means to them. This leads to the following research question: ‘In what ways does inclusive education affect processes of professionalism in teachers of academic secondary schools in Vienna, Austria?’

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