Conference Agenda

"Leave no one behind" is one of the main principles of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs). This is linked to the goal of reducing existing inequalities and establishing a more inclusive society in which all people can participate equally (UNSDG 2024). In modern working societies in particular, a lack of professional participation represents a major risk of exclusion, which can have a negative impact on social, societal and economic areas of life for those affected (Wansing 2005, 193). In addition to this normative dimension, promoting the professional participation of as many people of working age as possible is of central importance to the welfare state, especially in times of increasing skills shortages (Ixmeier et al. 2023).

Long-term unemployed people with health impairments are particularly affected by social exclusion, as these two attributes can be seen as a double hurdle when it comes to returning to a gainful employment to cover needs (Beste et al. 2023, 127f.).This problem is all the more virulent as there is a connection between long-term unemployment and health impairments (Kaps et al., 2019). In addition, there are often other barriers to participation in the labor market, such as a lack of vocational or school qualifications, advanced age, language deficits or care responsibilities (Beste, et al. 2023, 127f.).Against this backdrop, a fairly constant proportion of long-term unemployment can be observed in the Federal Republic of Germany: in December 2023, this figure was around 930,000 people (BA 2024). According to estimates by the Federal Institute for Employment Research, up to a quarter of a million of these people have such serious barriers, that their reintegration into work is unlikely under the current support instruments (Trappmann et al. 2019).

Previous attempts by the welfare state to intervene in order to sustainably reduce intersectional barriers to participation for long-term unemployed people with health impairments have often come to nothing. However, increasing access to vocational training could be a decisive opportunity to promote participation (Umkehrer 2020). Against the backdrop of entrenched long-term unemployment, the German legislator created a new standard instrument for promoting participation in basic social security for the long-term unemployed in 2023 - the holistic support in accordance with §16k SGBII. This is understood to mean "methods that include the assessment and development of personal skills and prospects"(BA 2023, 5), whereby employability is to be consolidated by overcoming individual problems with regard to the "life situation as a whole (...) [and] not just labor market-relevant content" (ibid.).

The rehapro model project Essen.Pro.Teilhabe (EPT) has been testing such a holistic support strategy since the beginning of 2020 in order to improve the support situation of long-term unemployed people with health impairments. Innovative elements of EPT include, in particular, interdisciplinary cooperation between different providers and the long-term, holistic support approach in an adaptive, sanction-free setting. The project is being scientifically monitored and evaluated by the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Based on current empirical data from the model project, the article outlines complex needs and conditions for the success of holistic skills development as a new educational practice and thus provides indications for a more inclusive and sustainable system of social participation support.

The development of inclusive education has become a policy priority across the world, reflected in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 which places a focus on quality education for all (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2015). Yet, the reality of enacting inclusive education remains inconsistent due to a range of barriers. Teachers are tasked with the responsibility of enacting policy and ensuring equity and inclusion, however they report feeling underprepared for this task in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and internationally (Florian and Camedda, 2020; Rose et al., 2015). The reported lack of teacher confidence and competence in meeting the needs of all learners signals shortcomings in teacher education and professional learning for inclusion (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2022). In this context, the perception of learner differences as deficits that need remediation remains a pervasive influence which can lead to individualising failure within learners (Florian, 2014). Notwithstanding the complexities associated with developing teachers’ beliefs, knowledge and skills for inclusive education, teacher education must support teachers to challenge hegemonic assumptions regarding ability, and to develop a sense of responsibility for including all learners. In addition, teachers need to have a shared understanding of inclusive education in order to support its enactment (Ainscow, 2020, Brennan & Gorman, 2023). The Inclusive Pedagogical Approach in Action (IPAA) framework offers a way forward for supporting teacher to narrow the persistent knowledge – practice gap for inclusion. It emphasises a shift away from ‘most’ and ‘some’ learners to meeting the needs of all learners in a way that does not marginalise difference (Florian, 2014). Teachers who enact inclusive pedagogy reject deterministic beliefs about ability and view diverse learning needs as teaching dilemmas to solve, rather than within learner problems. The challenge lies in the complex process of teacher change which requires changing teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, practice and student outcomes. However, transmissive professional development models, that do not significantly impact learning, tend to prevail in education. In contrast, models of collaborative professional learning, such as professional learning communities (PLCs) have shown to bring about and sustain teacher change (Brennan & King, 2022; Dogen, & Yurtseven, 2018). While the definition of PLCs lacks universal consensus, there is general agreement that an effective PLC involves regular reflective collaboration among a group of educators with the purpose of improving teaching and learning (Dogen, & Yurtseven, 2018). This paper demonstrates how PLCs that are characterised by enquiry and embedded in contexts of teachers’ work can be an effective model of professional learning for inclusion. Previous research in the RoI demonstrated that an externally facilitated PLC in a primary school resulted in sustained teacher learning for inclusion two years after facilitation ended (Brennan & King, 2022). Drawing on these findings, this research project scaled up PLCs as a model of PL for inclusive practice through a university-school partnership to support relational trust and authentic collaboration (Chapman, 2019). One academic supported four teachers to lead the development of PLCs in 4 schools over a period of 8 months. Focus group interviews with the PLC participants (n=33) and observation of practice in two schools, validated previous findings that showed improved attitudes, efficacy and practise for inclusion arising from engagement in a PLC. The PLCs provided safe and supportive spaces for collaborative problem solving among participants. This was fundamental to supporting teacher change and resulted in enhanced well-being among participants.