One approach to promote inclusive education that has been recently introduced in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, drawing on experiences from Canada (Katz, 2012), is the implementation of Learning Support Teams. In the Swiss decentralized education system, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is applied since 2014, guaranteeing that “persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education” (UN Behindertenrechtskonvention 2006 2014 Art. 24.2b). Despite this commitment and due to the federal structure, schools for special needs still exist and the quote of inclusion differs within the country, with teachers and regular schools searching for solutions to deal with a growing heterogeneity among students. The project “Learning Support Teams” aims to provide schools which need support in dealing with challenges of high heterogeneity among their students with fast and uncomplicated on-site assistance. The assistance is provided by Learning Support Teams which consist of highly qualified external experts, being present during days or weeks within the schools, aiming to collaboratively develop strategies to bundle and utilize existing resources in a way that challenging situations can be addressed so students can remain in their school. A multidisciplinary team from Zurich University of Teacher Education and The University of Teacher Education in Special Needs, Zurich conducts research for the project. This presentation introduces an accompanying research approach (Defila and Di Giulio 2018; Christensen et al. 2016), that considers the following general key objectives: • To examine how Learning Support Teams enhance inclusion and collaborative practices in schools. • To generate findings about school development processes that support inclusive education. • To provide data-based support for the effective development and deployment of Learning Support Teams in schools. To meet these objectives, data on the effectiveness of LST is collected to adapt support services continuously to practical needs and provide evidence-based feedback to decision-makers. Additionally, the practical implementation of the project is examined. This allows for ongoing quality monitoring and the adaptation of the concept, if necessary. We present results from both quantitative and qualitative data analysis that stem from the first project year, where we investigated how the members of the new Learning Support Teams design their role within the schools, how extensively schools utilize the services offered and describe the areas in which the Learning Support Teams are deployed. Finally, we discuss how in such an accompanying research approach acceptance, quality assurance and impact research can be reconciled.

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