Vocational education and training (VET) is identified by the United Nations as a key instrument for promoting inclusive and equitable quality education within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (UN, 2026). VET is considered an inclusive education pathway to support vulnerable students across European countries (e.g. Bell et al. 2025; Jørgensen et al. 2021, Aerne & Bonoli, 2023). Since VET teachers are confronted with very heterogenous learning groups with different needs and different educational goals, it is vital to implement inclusive teaching strategies.

In the German VET context, discussions surrounding inclusive teaching often reveal contradictory approaches, leading to various requirements and resulting in a didactic dilemma for teachers, e.g. focus on individual needs versus focus on the overarching characteristics of a vulnerable group. This study addresses two relevant key questions:

1. How is inclusive teaching theoretically framed within increasingly heterogeneous learning groups in Germany?

2. To what extent is inclusive teaching being implemented in VET preparation programmes in Germany?

There are different German VET preparation programmes, all of them focus on VET schools with the aim of preparing young adults to transfer into an apprenticeship or school-based VET system. The young adults often do not have a general school leaving certificate and are not yet of legal age. The students in VET programme can be described as vulnerable in various diversity dimensions, this is evident from recent figures and statistics like the German Bildungsberichterstattung (“Education Reporting”) (Autor:innengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2024).

This study is located in inclusion research and discusses concepts of narrow and broad definitions of inclusion, diversity and heterogeneity (Norwich, 2013). In particular, reflexive inclusion is critically examined regarding the deconstruction of categories of normality and inequality, which argues for a universalist claim to individual support (Budde & Hummrich, 2014).

This creates tension between the need to give special attention to certain groups of learners and the need to treat all learners as diverse individuals and offer them appropriate learning opportunities (Norwich, 2013). Both sides of the inclusion debate derive partly different demands on teachers and their lesson planning. This results in a teaching dilemma in the professional practice of teachers.

This study addresses both positions as well as the (de)construction discourse, which originates predominantly from general education, and highlights their relevance for VET and in the VET preparation programme. Therefore, the considerations of inclusive teaching are compatible with the international discourse, as the findings can be adapted to different education systems and countries.

The examination of the discourses is based on a literature analysis. In order to explore the realities of inclusion teaching approaches in VET schools, guided interviews were conducted with VET teachers (Witzel & Reiter, 2012). They were asked about existing dimensions of diversity and tensions in relation to objectives and diversity. Furthermore, the interviewees were asked to present the teaching concepts they used. The study took place in 2024. The interviews lasted an average of approximately 60 minutes. The sample consists of eight VET teachers from the three federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Lower Saxony (NI) and Rhineland-Palatinate (RP), which sometimes includes different educational programs. Female teachers dominate within the gender category (6/2). In terms of subject combinations, economics is the most frequently represented subject area (n=4). A total of ten different vocational subject areas and general education subjects are included. With an average of 10 years, the participants' professional experience can be considered extensive. The coding is based on the content-structuring qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz and Rädiker (2022). The content analysis and coding of all interviews led to the development of a category system consisting of 7 deductively formed supercategories and 65 inductively-deductively generated subcategories. Three main categories were assigned to the teaching dimensions (categories 3, 4 and 5: “Dimensions of diversity among students”, “Goals of VET preparation programmes” and “Educational approaches and concepts”).

The discourse analysis shows a move towards deconstructive heterogeneity approaches in German VET research, which is linked to individualised support in the classroom (e.g. Euler & Seveing, 2020). At the same time, there are academic debates about specific heterogeneity characteristics of vulnerable groups (e.g. Neumann & Tessmer, 2018). This focus on individual categories of inequality was also found in the interviews with teachers from the VET preparation programmes. They also stress the importance of spontaneous adaptations in teaching while striving to align overall educational goals with the needs of the entire group. The results show that the academic claim of deconstructing “normalities” is also pursued in the practice of VET preparation as analysed here. The composition of learners is often characterised by one specific homogeneity characteristic. Within this unit, individualised support is implemented with regard to the other heterogeneity characteristics. Across Europe, VET systems are increasingly challenged to balance individualised learning support with collective goals of social inclusion and equal opportunities. The teaching approaches in German VET thus resonate with European values of diversity, lifelong learning and participation and reflect wider educational discourses promoted through EU policies such as The Herning Declaration on attractive and inclusive Vocational Education and Training (VET) for increased competitiveness and quality jobs 2026-2030 (EC, 2026). This study raises critical questions about how inclusive teaching strategies for VET schools should be developed to meet the practical needs and challenges faced by teachers. The background and subject of the generated results relating to the design of inclusive teaching in VET are not limited to Germany alone but can be transferred to various education systems.

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