Conference Agenda

Problem-based learning (PBL) appears an essential approach that is well-suited for teacher education, due to its positive impact on knowledge retention and application, the changes in attitude, and the improvement in diagnostic skills among prospective teachers (Snyder & McWilliam, 1999; Wedel et al., 2022; Yew & Goh, 2016). Originally designed for medical students, PBL empowers student teachers to take responsibility for their own learning by using realistic cases (Barrows, 1996). In the course of developing solutions and strategies for real-life problems independently, student teachers come to understand themselves as active learners. They also develop their research skills, integrate theory and practice, and apply their knowledge to create practical solutions for defined problems (Savery, 2006). The efficacy of this approach is particularly pronounced when student teachers are presented with a complex problem scenario that has multiple adequate solutions (Hmelo-Silver, 2004).

The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2022) highlights four core values for all teachers and education professionals, especially those working in inclusive education: valuing learner diversity, supporting all learners, working with others and personal professional development. The agency underscores the significance of these values and stresses that attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, understanding, and skills must align with the concepts of inclusion (European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2012, 2022).

The present article focuses on the application of PBL in the field of inclusive and special education and the integration of the core values into teacher education in Germany and Austria. To this end, realistic portrayals of children and young adults with special educational needs were created that are based on the experiences of experts in special and inclusive education. The portrayals encompass individual risk and protective factors pertinent to the child or young adult, the family, and the environment. In accordance with the model of resilience research, factors that hinder resilience are referred to as risk factors, while factors that facilitate resilience are classified as protective factors (Werner, 2020). As delineated in the Methods section, a number of students in Germany and Austria will be assigned the task of identifying protective and risk factors in relation to the portrayals presented and their environment. The utilization of Zoom facilitates collaboration among student teachers from both countries, enabling the exchange of information concerning the protective and risk factors they will have identified. The objective of the joint seminar sessions is to facilitate the collaboration between teacher students from Germany and Austria in the development of strategies and solutions that support children's learning in the classroom environment.

The study seeks to address the following research questions by having student teachers work on the portrayals using PBL:

Q1. To what extent are student teachers able to identify protective and risk factors in the given portrayals?

Q2. What options and strategies do student teachers come up with to support the child in the classroom?

Q3. How do student teachers reflect the collaborative development of solutions?

Collaboration among teachers has been internationally recognized as a central factor in promoting inclusive education (e.g., Paulsrud & Nilholm, 2023). More specifically, intensive collaboration is assumed to have the potential to support teaching practices and school development by integrating teachers’ different areas of expertise and fostering professional development, thereby enhancing outcomes for both teachers and students (e.g., Grosche et al., 2020; Pan et al., 2024).

Existing evidence suggests that collaboration can indeed positively affect student outcomes, such as their academic achievement or social participation (e.g., Ronfeldt et al., 2015; Spörer et al., 2021). At the same time, unintended and potentially negative effects, such as less peer interaction and more teacher interaction when a second teacher is in the classroom, must also be considered (e.g., Spörer et al., 2021). However, empirical evidence remains limited, particularly regarding longitudinal studies on teacher collaboration outside the classroom and the characteristics of collaboration that most effectively support student outcomes (e.g., Sannen et al., 2021).

This study aims to address this research gap by drawing on the theoretical framework of co-constructive collaboration (Grosche et al., 2020; Kluge et al., 2025), a model that is compatible with international concepts of teacher collaboration, such as professional learning communities (Grosche et al., 2020). Co-constructive collaboration (CCC) is defined as “joint, cyclical, intensive, and interdependent processes of negotiation and reflection [among teachers] on innovations and their practical implications” (Grosche et al., 2020, p. 467, translated by the authors). It represents an intensive form of classroom related or extra-curricular collaboration, which encompasses collaborative activities that occur before and after lessons (Kluge et al., 2025; Schnepel et al., 2025).

Grounded in this theoretical framework, the present longitudinal study examines whether different dimensions of CCC can improve students’ competencies in math and reading, their perception of inclusion (i.e., their academic self-concept, emotional well-being, and social inclusion; Venetz et al., 2015), as well as their development in these domains from grade six to grade nine.

By examining different dimensions of collaboration, the study provides insights into which characteristics of collaboration among teachers are most effective in promoting student outcomes. Furthermore, by integrating academic, emotional, and social outcomes of students, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential role of teacher collaboration in promoting students’ development in inclusive lower secondary schools.

Understandings of inclusive education vary and are situated in specific contexts (Claiborne & Balakrishnan, 2020). Following a comprehensive interpretation, inclusion refers to promoting social justice and an ongoing process (Armstrong et al., 2010). While “the goal has forcefully shifted to inclusive education, (...) there has also been a backlash against this idea(l)” (Powell, 2023, p. xxii). Thus, inclusive education remains contested, especially with regard to the rise of far-right actors across the globe, who delegitimise inclusive education and promote selective school systems (On Education, 2024). As “shifting policy contexts” influence “efforts to advocate for justice- and equity-oriented teacher education” (Cochran-Smith, 2020, p. 49), this is relevant for the increased focus on teacher education for inclusion across Europe (e.g. Epstein, 2025).

“Fostering collaboration” (Epstein, 2025, p. 3) is considered a key aspect of teacher education for inclusion. Addressing multidisciplinary collaboration in teacher education is highlighted in the “Profile for Inclusive Teacher Professional Learning”: This refers to “advocacy, collaboration and teamwork are essential approaches for all teachers and other education professionals” (European Agency, 2022, p. 32). This is relevant, as teachers refer to “little attention” (Friend, 2000, p. 132) on this topic in their professional training. In this respect, the study of Zagona et al. (2017, p. 175) indicated “that special educators felt more prepared to collaborate with their colleagues, as compared with general education teachers”. This might also reflect different models in teacher education which encompass a continuum of collaboration (Pugach & Blaton, 2009). Based on a systematic review of international literature on teacher education for inclusion, Buchhaupt et al. (2022) point to a stronger focus on qualification activities on the topic collaboration for general education teacher compared to comprehensive activities for different professionals resp. teacher education programmes. Overall, in contrast to considering multidisciplinary collaboration as a “quick fix” (Nicols et al., 2010, p. 647), complexities of multidisciplinary collaboration – e.g. “in the observed forms of cooperation” in schools (Sonntag, 2025, p. 6) – emphasize the need for addressing this within teacher education for inclusion (Anton et al., 2024).

In the recent years, research on multidisciplinary teacher draws attention to the situatedness of multidisciplinary collaboration (Hansen et al., 2020). Referring to Strauss’ concept of negotiated order(ing) (Strauss, 1993), social world/arena theory (Clarke, 1991) and Clarke’s emphasis on the “complexities of ‘situatedness’” (Clarke, 2005, p. xxviii), multidisciplinary collaboration can be conceptualized as situated and negotiated ordering (Arndt, 2022). This implies, for instance, the empirical question what (future) professionals consider as negotiable or non-negotiable in a given situation and which differences are made relevant in the situation. This raises questions concerning the ways multiprofessional collaboration is addressed in teacher education and initial teacher education (ITE) students’ perspective, in particular.

Against this backdrop, this paper focusses addressing multidisciplinary collaboration in initial teacher education by presenting results of an ongoing qualitative study on two different approaches within courses on multidisciplinary collaboration in a secondary teacher education programme with the focus on inclusive education at a university in Austria.

In the last decade, there has been an increased focus on multidisciplinary collaboration as a topic and as a format within teacher education in German speaking contexts (e.g. Rabenstein & Kunze, 2017). Based on an analysis of different projects for inclusive teacher education in the German context, Buchhaupt et al. (2017) conclude that the overall aim of the different approaches was to create spaces for explicit negotiation as well as for (joint) reflection of roles and responsibilities. In this respect, Köpfer and Lemmer (2020) emphasize the need for further research ITE students’ concepts of professional collaboration.