On the way to inclusion. What demands does inclusion place on educational professionals?

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Inclusive processes in kindergarten

3. Requirements for educator skills
3.1 Research attitude
3.2 Biographical work
3.3 Expertise, experience and training

4. Aspects of dealing with inclusion
4.1 Teamwork
4.2 Kindergarten group
4.2.1 Pedagogical interventions
4.2.2 Useful framework
4.3 Individual support
4.4 Cooperation with parents

5. Summary

6. Bibliography

1. Introduction

"Die pädagogischen Fachkräfte sind Dreh- und Angelpunkt, wenn es darum geht, inklusive Prozesse in der Kindertageseinrichtung zu gestalten" (Nowack, 2013, p. 2).

With the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, inclusion is the focus of attention. With the demand for inclusion, a paradigm shift is developing in today's educational system: all children, regardless of individual abilities and cultural or social background, should grow up and learn together.

"It's normal to be different." These frequently used words express that heterogeneity and diversity are part of our society. Even in daycare centers today you can find a broad spectrum of heterogeneity. Day-care centres for children play an important role here: as the first educational institution outside of the family, they should lay the foundation for equal opportunities for participation in education and society. This means that the kindergarten concepts should change in such a way that all individual life situations and peculiarities of the children must be taken into account. Who and how should it be realized? The scientists and educators agree on this. The specialists working in the day care center are the ones who are to implement and carry out inclusion in practice. Their personality, their attitude, their motivation, their expertise, their influence and their willingness to cooperate decisively determine the implementation and success of inclusive processes in early childhood education (Garai et al., 2010, p. 47; Nowack, 2013, p. 2).

The limited scope of this work allows only a simplified question and so I would like to look for answers to the question "What are the requirements for inclusion for educational specialists?". I will start with the description of the legal mandate to implement inclusion processes in daycare centers and explain the goals of inclusive education in heterogeneous groups. I would then like to describe increasing demands on educator skills and discuss some aspects of organizing the inclusive process.

2. Inclusive processes in kindergarten

Day care facilities for children are not a sanctuary from which conflicts and problems in society can be kept out.

"Die Lebenswelt der Kinder und der Familien soll sich im Kita-Alltag widerspiegeln, so sehen es auch die Bildungs-, Erziehungs-und Orientierungspläne der Länder vor. Tageseinrichtungen für Kinder könnten Vorbild sein für eine andere Form des Zusammenlebens, die Gestaltung einer Welt, in der Vielfalt gelebt wird und die Ausgrenzungen verhinder" (Hocke, 2012, p.100).

The educational, care and upbringing offered by day-care centres "soll sich am Alter und Entwicklungsstand, den sprachlichen und sonstigen Fähigkeiten, der Lebenssituation sowie den Interessen und Bedürfnissen des einzelnen Kindes orientierten und seine ethnische Herkunft berücksichtigen" (SGB VIII, § 22, para. 3). Recognition of heterogeneity, as the cornerstone for inclusion, can be found in almost all educational plans: cultural diversity and impairments are to be valued, the children are to be strengthened in their identity individually (Sulzer, 2013, p. 22).

"Das Konzept der Inklusion nimmt seinen Ausgang bei den entwicklungs- und sozialisationsrelevanten Unterschiedlichkeiten der Individuen, deren Teilhabe durch die Adaption gesellschaftlicher Institutionen gesichert werden soll. Strategie und Ziel inklusiver Erziehung in heterogenen Gruppen ist die gleiche Anerkennung aller Kinder bei Respektierung ihrer individuellen Unterschiede. Eine Kindertageseinrichtung hat auf Grund ihrer strukturierenden und inhalts-,vermittelnden Funktion in diesem Sinn die positive Entwicklung der Kinder zu gewährleisten" (Kron, 2010, p. 4).

The day care centers are faced with the challenge that there are different children in each kindergarten group and thus a heterogeneity is given, which must be mastered as far as possible in such a way that each child receives an appropriate and beneficial upbringing and education. Among the many aspects of heterogeneity, age, gender, disability, cognitive performance, emotionality, psycho-social abilities, linguistic-cultural origin and social class are in the center of attention in elementary schools. Childhood researchers confirm that more and more children in kindergartens are impaired in their behavior and learning. They have difficulty when concentrating, avoid fulfilling requirements or react to them with outbursts of anger. Others withdraw, or have difficulty complying with the usual rules. These children show very different impairments, many are treated therapeutically or with medication. Based on the differentiated German special education system, children are categorized as children with emotional and social impairments, impairments concerning learning and the perception, physical and motor impairments, mental and emotional impairments, language or speech impairments and sensory impairments. Some children even need useful support in several areas (Klein, 2012, p. 16f.).

"Allen Kindern ist aber eines gemeinsam: Sie haben besondere pädagogische Bedürfnisse und einen erhöhten Erziehungsbedarf [Hervorheb. im Original]. Ihrem Bedürfnis und Hilfebedarf kann und soll – so weit wie möglich – bei der gemeinsamen Erziehung in der Kita entsprochen werden: Durch ein möglichst situationsgerechtes Handeln der Erzieher/-innen" (Klein, 2012, p.17).

In particular, more serious problems cannot be solved by the educators in daycare alone. Therefore, a cooperation between various services (early intervention agencies, educational counseling, social services of the government office for youth welfare, etc.) is necessary. Forms of low-threshold cooperation have proven themselves, especially the continuous presence of the various services in the institution (Fröhlich-Gildhoff, 2014, p. 46).

3. Requirements for educator skills

3.1 Research attitude

In view of the diversity of cultures and living environments in which children grow up, a broadening of perspectives in early childhood education is necessary. Only if heterogeneity is recognized, valued and one's own pedagogical attitude and action reflected, pedagogical forces can develop appropriate professional skills. A research-based attitude is regarded as the basis for the training of such competencies (cf. Weltzen, 2014, p. 19).

Pedagogical specialists in the day-care centres should be able to classify the social phenomena of the migration society in a technical way, to have basic knowledge about migration, the mixing of languages and cultures as a result of migration. Fachwerke interkultureller Pädagogik and works from family and migration research provide an overview (Sulzer, 2013, p. 23f.). In addition, pedagogical specialists should be able to deal with topics of disability and impairment, with medical / therapeutic reports and articles.

A special competence that is important for dealing with heterogeneity, is not pretending to know everything. An open attitude and a respectful curiosity towards other people and their peculiarities, offer a good opportunity to relate to each other and to overcome prejudices. The researching attitude is promoted on the one hand by pronounced communicative skills and on the other hand by the ability and willingness to continuously expand one’s knowledge and self-reflection (Weltzen, 2014, p. 20).

3.2 Biographical work

Professionalization processes are subject to a biographical development process that starts from the existing possibilities and differentiates and/or changes them through concrete challenges of action and thinking. Starting points for this are

"… die Erfahrungen, die man gemacht hat, als man selbst erzogen wurde. Diese müssen geklärt und so weiter entwickelt werden, dass sie dem Stand heutigen professionellen Könnens und Wissens entsprechen" (Schäfer, 2005, p.1).

Dealing with diversity and inclusion is strongly influenced by one's own values, orientations and attitudes. These develop in the course of life and are often anchored in their own personal experiences (cf. Weltzen, 2014, p. 23). Working with one’s biography serves to remember, reflect on and re-evaluate one's own previous experiences. Impulse-giving and structured questions can help to remember life circumstances and feelings and to link them with one's own abilities and skills. As a result, implicit knowledge about experiences, which was mostly acquired unconsciously, is made more explicit. Previous experiences of foreignness will often emerge and be linked to attitudes and attitudes. By exchanging experiences with colleagues, these can be researched and compared. Self- and external reflection can promote one's own professionalization. However, this can only be achieved in an atmosphere of trust and respect. A conversational culture based on appreciation and acceptance is therefore necessary. When biographical experiences become conscious and one succeeds to reinterpret them, then new perspectives open up that also lead to new evaluations and conscious actions in future situations (Weltzen, 2014, p. 19f.).

The development of religious and cultural sensitivity also plays a major role in the implementation of inclusive processes and can be carried out through biographical work.

"Der fachliche Anspruch ist, eine professionelle Haltung zu entwickeln, die ,weder differenzblind noch differenzfixiert´ ist (Mecheril 2002). Nicht ,differenzfixiert´ zu sein, bezieht sich darauf, dass Kultur als Differenzlinie nicht immer und zu jedem Zeitpunkt relevant für die Selbst- und Fremdidentifikation ist. Nicht ,differenzblind´ heißt, dass die Relevanz von Kultur für die Selbst- und Fremdidentifikation auch berücksichtigt werden sollte. Ähnlich einer Lupe kann eine so verstandene Kultursensibilität [Hervorheb. im Original] (Fischer 2009) in der Praxis helfen, Interaktionen und Verhaltensweisen so zu interpretieren, dass Stereotype und Kulturalisierungen vermieden werden können" (Sulzer, 2013, p. 26).

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