This study focuses on the different understandings and implementation of Inclusion in Vocational Schools in German-speaking Switzerland and Germany. Inclusive education is conceptualized in educational science in terms of different target groups and values (Lindmeier & Lütje-Klose, 2015). The proposed research project is oriented towards marginalized or vulnerable groups and aims to increase the participation opportunities of these young adults in Vocational Education Training (VET) and to minimize their social and institutional exclusion. The target group includes young people with disadvantages and disabilities who are marginalized due to various diversity dimensions (i.e., class, race, gender, ethnicity, age, disability) (Bojanowski, Eckardt, & Ratschinski, 2004; Enggruber & Palleit, 2019; Lindmeier & Lütje-Klose, 2015).

Within the framework of national legislation and country-specific requirements, Germany and Switzerland establish different priorities for inclusive VET. The vocational training models implemented to further develop inclusion within the dual vocational training system differ. (Becker, Kammermann, Spöttl & Balzer, 2017). Underlying these models are different conceptualizations of inclusion and of training concepts for addressing disadvantage in the education system (Becker, Musekamp & Spöttl, 2017; Scharnhorst & Kammermann, 2017). In Switzerland, the development led to mainly inclusive training models. In Germany, separate training models were developed (e.g. vocational school for young people with SEN). Both countries have taken measures to promote the vocational inclusion of young people with disadvantages and disabilities, but these measures are only partially effective and not to the extent expected. Although measures to improve the vocational inclusion of young adults with disadvantages and disabilities have been implemented in both countries in recent years, there is a need for action with regard to labor market integration and initial vocational training (Pool Maag, 2016). Research of general conditions and training models highlight that their participation in work and society is in question due to persistent problems of fit, especially in low-threshold occupations (Scharnhorst & Kammermann, 2020). The analysis shows that the measures taken to promote the vocational inclusion of young people with disabilities and disadvantages in both countries are only partially effective and not to the extent expected.

Findings from comparative VET research on vocational training opportunities in Germany and Switzerland show that at the macro level there are extensive results on general conditions and training models (Gonon, 2016), also from the perspective of disadvantaged young people (Becker, Kammermann, Spöttl & Balzer, 2017). In contrast, comparative studies on Inclusion in Vocational Schools as well as at the meso level (teachers, administration, and trainer) and the micro level (teaching, learning and training processes) are largely lacking. The need for additional research and the inclusion of the meso and micro levels in comparative research is necessary (Pilz, 2017). Findings from research for different occupations and in both countries confirm this need (Bach et al., 2018; Berger & Pfiffner, 2018; Heinrichs, Reinke, Minnameier, & Ziegler, 2019). Of particular interest are inclusive instructional approaches and strategies (inclusive practices) and the inclusion-related professionalization of teachers at vocational schools, including the assessment of their inclusion-related attitudes (Ruberg & Porsch, 2017).

The proposed study addresses this research need and focuses on the inclusive practices at vocational schools in low-threshold occupations in Germany and Switzerland: 1. To what extent do teachers implement inclusive practices in the classroom and what is their inclusive attitude? 2. What connections exist between the inclusion-related attitude of teachers, their inclusive practices and the performance development of learners?

A longitudinal country comparison study aims to explore the connection between the quality and effectiveness of inclusive practices evaluating them in relation to education models. Connections between the extent of inclusion-related attitudes of the teachers, their inclusive practices and the performance development of the learners will be a focus. These connections will be modelled on the "Theory of Planned Behaviour" (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010). The study design combines qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and data analysis in a mixed-methods approach. Two different models will be used. A triangulated design addresses the assessment and implementation of inclusive teaching and an explanatory design addresses the analysis of performance development as a function of inclusive practices. The multi-perspective approach has become established in educational and social science research to capture effects and interrelations in social fields of action, including teaching. The approach is implemented in the proposed research through the combination of self-assessments and assessments by others relative to the inclusive practices. Longitudinal data (i.e., performance development, inclusive practices) as well as cross-sectional data (i.e., assessment of class heterogeneity, inclusion-related attitudes) will be collected. The performance development and the inclusive practices will be conducted with measurement repetition (pre-post-test). Construct validity is ensured by standardized scale-based and tested instruments. Values for criterion validity are ensured by multi-perspectivity. When drawing samples for country comparison studies, it is recommended to take into account the economic structure, the specifics of the occupational fields as well as regional differences (Ebner and Nikolai, 2010). Research on teachers' attitudes recommends considering divers teaching subjects in the sample (Ruberg & Porsch, 2017). The proposed sample will be drawn from two low-threshold occupations in which teachers are exposed to high heterogeneity-related demands in the classroom. In order to ensure the representativity of the samples with respect to the two sectors, further criteria will be taken into account (school size, city/rural area, cantonal or state-related and institutional conditions, professions and training models). These as well as conditions resulting from the expected effect sizes of the instruments (i.e., Power Analysis) should be taken into consideration.

For the first time, comparative vocational education research with a focus on inclusive practices. will take place in German-speaking Switzerland and Germany. Internationally, the results will contribute to the theory of inclusion in vocational education and training, especially regarding the inclusion in vocational schools. The proposed study provides macro-level insights for model-related discussions and developments in the context of institutional implementation of inclusion. At the meso-level, the empirical basis serves as a foundation for the conceptualization of inclusive professionalism for vocational schools and on the micro-level for the development of inclusive teaching models. In both countries, there is a need for research-supported knowledge and a pedagogical-didactical influence to change regarding the design of inclusive teaching and learning settings. The study will reveal the correlations between the extent of inclusion-related attitudes of teachers, their teaching practices and the performance development of learners in low-threshold occupations. Using the example of education in the low-threshold training sector, it is possible for the first time to show which advantages and disadvantages the inclusive training model in Switzerland shows in comparison to the separative training model in the remedial vocational schools in Germany. Accordingly, the findings of the study may provide an empirical basis for school-specific discussions in the context of the institutional implementation of inclusion. The data will provide a robust empirical basis for this. By collecting and processing representative data on the macro, meso and micro levels, results will be comparable on a national and cross-national level. Regarding the design of inclusive teaching and learning settings, the study aims to lay the foundations for inclusive practices (inclusive instructional approaches and strategies) for teachers at vocational schools. Recommendations for effective country-specific implementation and cross-country development of inclusive education at vocational schools and research need are expected.

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