The collaboration between the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Life Sciences, Dr. Susanne Miesera, and Western University, London, Canada, specifically the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education led by Prof. Jacqueline Specht, focuses on research in the field of inclusion in the educational context.
Building on mutual research visits, data collection was carried out concerning the experiences of prospective teachers in inclusive classrooms. The current study investigates whether differences in inclusive teaching practices can be attributed to variations in experiences with inclusion in the respective countries. 18 Canadian prospective teachers and 29 German teacher trainees identified internship experiences, training programs, previous occupations, and personal life experiences as contributing to the development of their inclusive teaching practices. The technique of Global Concept Mapping was applied. An international article has been submitted.
The results were presented at: https://eera-ecer.de/ecer-2021-geneva/
Expert Interview on Inclusion
The collaboration between the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Life Sciences, Dr. Susanne Miesera, and the University College of Teacher Education Styria, Institute of Educational Sciences, Prof. Daniela Moser, focuses on research priorities in the field of vocational teacher education. Research activities include inclusion in the educational context and digitization in teacher education.
Inclusion: A cross-national study examines how inclusive issues in vocational teacher training influence participants' attitudes and self-efficacy. The online survey involved 110 prospective teachers in Bavaria undergoing preparatory service and 106 prospective vocational educators at five University Colleges of Teacher Education in Austria (Styria, Tyrol, Vienna, Vorarlberg, Carinthia). The questionnaire analysis is based on three constructs: experience, attitude, and self-efficacy. Additionally, the results are compared with a previous comparative study between Canada and Germany (Miesera & Gebhardt, 2018). The findings of the transnational study indicate differences in scale evaluations between the two countries. The study identifies experience and attitudes as the strongest factors predicting self-efficacy; gender and nationality have a lesser impact. In conclusion, the present study highlights the need for further research in the field of inclusion in vocational schools.
Further information:
Article VETNET (engl.) und bwpat (german)
Digitization in teacher education has increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-national research design includes quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews in focus groups) methods. Building on research on distance learning (Kerres & Jechle, 2002; Chen, 2009) and the concept of competence as a self-organizational disposition (Erpenbeck & v. Rosenstiel, 2003), questionnaires were used to assess self-competence, task competence, social and cooperative competence, and system competence. Initial research findings were presented at ECER Geneva 2021.
Further information: https://eera-ecer.de/ecer-2021-geneva/, abstract
The conduct of focus group interviews on digital teaching in vocational education has been completed. Key questions addressed the impact of digital teaching on the profession-related competencies of participating teachers and learners. The analysis is ongoing, and publication is in preparation.
Collaboration
The collaboration between the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Life Sciences, Dr. Susanne Miesera, and the University of Teacher Education Zurich, Chair of Special Education with a Focus on Inclusion and Diversity, Prof. Silvia Pool Maag, focuses on research priorities in the field of vocational teacher education. Research activities include inclusion in the educational context.
The research project "Inclusion in Vocational Education: Teaching at Vocational Schools in Germany and at Vocational Schools in Switzerland in the Context of Inclusion" takes into account country-specific implementation of inclusive education. The project centers on the pedagogical professionalism of educators at vocational schools in Germany and Switzerland in the context of inclusion within entry-level vocational occupations.
The results of the literature review were presented at ECER 2021.
Link: https://eera-ecer.de/ecer-2021-geneva/
Expert Interview on Inclusion