Conference Agenda

The diagnosis of a serious illness in children and adolescents not only poses great challenges for the patients and their parents, but is also an important issue for schools and educators. Serious and long-term illnesses represent developmental tasks for pupils that deviate from their usual life routine, which - if not successfully overcome - can be accompanied by further emotional and social challenges. There has been a discussion about further training for teaching during illness since the 1970s. There is a consensus that teachers need additional pedagogical and didactic skills in this field, but there is still no curricular or state-recognised training or further education in German-speaking countries. With regard to adequate schooling in the sense of pedagogy during illness, it can therefore be stated that there is a lack of clarification of (political, financial, scientific and pedagogical) responsibilities as well as a lack of systematisation and evaluation of pedagogical action. In addition, there is a lack of interconnection between practical expertise and scientific knowledge in this area, which is all the more problematic as it is of great relevance, especially in stressful situations such as illness, that pupils receive appropriate educational support in a timely manner. The illness-specific educational support requirements lead to special demands on teachers.

The focus is on questions of professionalisation in the face of the great heterogeneity of sick pupils and special schools as inclusive places of education. The contribution focusses on vulnerability as a heterogeneity dimension using the example of illness and how to deal with it in terms of inclusive education.

This symposium will present findings from projects that deal with pedagogy in the case of illness. One project aims to establish the first international network of Swiss universities in the field of "pedagogy during illness" and "hospital schools" - initially with Germany and Austria - and subsequently with the UK. A sustainable transnational network between universities (science) and hospital schools (practice) has been established in the D-A-CH network (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), in which empirical analyses of the requirements and practical professional goals of hospital schools have been carried out. These empirical analyses will result in the form of a curriculum for a Master's degree course in Hospital School Pedagogy anchored in Switzerland, which will contribute to the professionalisation of teachers at hospital schools and to the further development of pedagogy in the event of illness. In this regard, specific pedagogical aspects that need to be taken into account in pedagogy during illness will be analysed and presented at the symposium.

Another project is investigating the use of digital educational technology for children and young people with chronic illnesses. The question of whether and in what way telepresence systems, such as the AV1 avatar, can enable pupils with chronic illnesses to be included in everyday school life and what opportunities but also hurdles need to be taken into account for educators is being investigated. To this end, an interview study was conducted and presented and discussed at the symposium.

Overarching, the contributions deal with the question of the professionalisation of how teachers deal with sick pupils both in special schools and in mainstream schools in terms of inclusive education. This research question is addressed methodologically in the individual contributions, both empirically and quantitatively.

Remedial schools are conceptualised as inclusive places of education in which, however, pedagogical antinomies with regard to school inclusion cannot be resolved. The antinomies exist, for example, in the temporary school on the one hand and the breakdown of relationships on the other. The character of the sanatorium school as a transitional place, as well as a separative and at the same time inclusive temporary place, is worked out. After inclusion in the hospital school, re-inclusion after a stay in a hospital school can be a major challenge for everyone involved (Tougas et al. 2019). At the centre is the heterogeneity dimension of vulnerability, which is addressed using the example of illness in pupils. Using the hermeneutic approach in educational science, texts on inclusive pedagogy and pedagogy in the case of illness are critically analysed and antinomies in the field of discourse are identified and contrasted. The article is intended as an introduction and framing of the topic and contributions to the symposium.

Piegsda, F .; Link, P . C .; Rossmanith, S .; Kötzel, A . (2020): Eine Schule für besondere Lebenslagen aufZeit . Schulische Zentren für Pädagogik bei Krankheit im Kontext von Transitions- und Inklusionsprozessen . Zeitschrift für Heilpädagogik, 71 (2), S . 58–71 Tougas, A .-M .; Rassy, J .; Frenette-Bergeron, É .; Marcil, K . (2019). «Lost in Transition»: A Systematic Mixed Studies Review of Problems and Needs Associated with School Reintegration After Psychia-tric Hospitalization . School Mental Health, 11(4), S . 629–649 .

In terms of inclusive education, teachers of all school types need additional pedagogical-didactic competences in the heterogeneity dimension of illness. The main aim of the Movetia-funded project is to develop a curriculum for a MAS (Master of Advanced Studies) in Pedagogy in Illness and Hospital School Pedagogy in order to professionalise teachers who work in transition, with chronically ill children and young people and in special schools. The sub-goals for achieving this are, firstly, an analysis of the current situation in order to systematically analyse existing continuing education programmes in the field of pedagogy in illness. The method of choice here is document analysis due to the heterogeneity of the data material. Secondly, a questionnaire will be used to survey the needs of teachers at special schools and teachers involved in the transition of pupils. Thirdly, on the basis of this data, selected expert interviews are conducted and analysed with regard to conditions for success and needs for action and presented to the practice partners. This three-step process and the associated triangulation of the document analysis, data from the quantitative and qualitative field survey and the expert interviews are intended to form the scientifically sound basis for the development of the cross-location curriculum for D-A-CH, which has been evaluated by practitioners. This paper will present the research project as a whole and the initial results.

Langnickel, R., Markowetz, R., Hövel, D. C., Link, P.-C., Falkenstörfer, S., Hoanzl, M., Elbracht, S., & Gingelmaier, S. (2023). Projektvorstellung "Pädagogik bei Krankheit und Spitalschulpädagogik" (Pb-KuS). Sonderpädagogische Förderung heute., 68 (4), 430–434. https://doi.org/10.3262/SZ2304430

In Austria, around 200,000 children and young people suffer from a chronic illness and can only participate in school lessons to a limited extent or not at all due to medical treatment or hospitalisation. The resulting social isolation can have serious and long-lasting consequences for young patients (Kirkpatrick 2020). To counteract this, digital education technologies such as telepresence robots are being used in everyday school life. The small robots enable patients to attend school virtually, meet friends and take part in lessons. This technology acts as a proxy for the patient at school and is controlled by the patient via a tablet. The telepresence systems are intended to help facilitate the social integration of children and adolescents with chronic illnesses so that they can participate in school life despite their illness (Zillner et al., 2022). As part of a qualitative interview study (n= 28) with affected pupils, parents, teachers and classmates, participation with a telepresence system at school was investigated. The study focussed in particular on factors that promote and hinder social inclusion. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz. In this article, the results of the study are presented and put up for discussion. Categories such as attitude, usage behaviour and interaction in the classroom with a telepresence system are discussed. These aspects are discussed in the context of a sense of belonging and social integration in the school environment. The aim is to identify opportunities and barriers to facilitate teachers' use of telepresence systems and to strengthen social inclusion.

Kirkpatrick, K. (2020). Adolescents With Chronical Medical Conditions and High School Completion: The Importance of Perceived School Belonging. Continuity in Education, 1(1), pp. 50-63. Kuckartz, U. & Rädiker, S. (2023). Qualitative Content Analysis: Methods, Practice and Software. SAGE Publications. Zillner, C., Turner, A., Rockenbauer, G., Röhsner, M., & Pletschko, T. (2022). Use of Telepresence System to Enhance School Participation in Pediatric Patients with Chronic Illnesses Involving the CNS: Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie, 33 (4), 227 - 234.