A new Path towards Inclusion in Higher Education

A new Path towards Inclusion in Higher Education

Most (preservice) teachers and teacher educators share a similar background in higher education. Some will have struggled more than others to gain access to a university education. But in general, this path was open to most of them after finishing school and thinking about what their future might be.

For people with so-called intellectual disabilities, however, this is an entirely different story. In Germany, children with intellectual disabilities are among those most often excluded from mainstream education (Klemm 2022, 9). After finishing their school education, they make up the majority of people working in sheltered workshops separated from the competitive labour market (Bundesgemeinschaft Werkstätten 2024, 49). Their access to higher education or a teaching position is almost inexistant.

This means that teaching equity, diversity, and inclusion in teacher training programs is pretty exclusive when it comes to intellectual disabilities. Even though people with intellectual disabilities are directly affected by processes of inclusion and exclusion, their voices are rarely heard when these topics come up in teacher training courses. This is what the Annelie Wellensiek Center for Inclsuive Education is trying to change.

 

“Nothing about us without us”: Even in Higher Education?

The Annelie Wellensiek Center for Inclusive Education (AW-ZIB) at the University of Education in Heidelberg has been exploring innovative approaches to inclusion since 2020. The center focuses on actively incorporating the perspectives of people with disabilities into teaching practices in higher education. At AW-ZIB, individuals with and without disabilities collaborate to address interdisciplinary challenges and advance research on inclusive education.

At the center, people considered to have intellectual disabilities can become educational professionals by completing a three-year, full-time training course. After completing the course, they can become members of the teaching staff in the university’s teacher training program. In their classes, they reflect on their experiences of inclusion and exclusion and enrich the program with insights that no other staff member could provide. Their students include future teachers, professionals, and leadership personnel, but the main focus is on teacher education. AW-ZIP courses are also held at partner universities and other institutions in the region — primarily in the field of teacher training. Beyond teaching, the educational professionals are also involved in academic research that analyses the effects and outcomes of the program itself.

At AW-ZIB, the lived experience of people with intellectual disabilities is a necessary part of the broader attempt to address equity, diversity, and inclusion in teacher training. Recognizing the disability movements’ demand ‘Noting about us without us,’ the program is committed to the idea that understanding disability requires engaging with the people most directly affected by it. One of its main learning goals is to understand that living with a disability shapes people’s biographies, but it does not define them.

 

Inclusion beyond Theory

With its program, the Annelie Wellensiek Center takes a major step toward a more inclusive future in education, demonstrating how inclusion and participation can become part of teaching and learning in universities. Why not let the very people who experience inclusion and exclusion every day have their say in the matter? By including people with intellectual disabilities in the teaching process, the Annelie Wellensiek Center breaks down barriers on both personal and professional levels. It enables encounters between disabled and non-disabled people on equal terms and challenges ableist notions of who gets to have an education or who is qualified to teach at a university level. For everyone striving to make equity, diversity, and inclusion a mainstay in teacher education, it is a reminder that simply teaching these concepts in theory might not be enough.

 

For more information, visit: www.ph-heidelberg.de/aw-zib

 

Sources:

Bundesgemeinschaft Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen (2024). Segel setzen für eine inklusive Arbeitswelt. Jahresbericht 2024. Berlin. https://www.bagwfbm.de/article/7636

Klemm, K. (2022). Inklusion in Deutschlands Schulen: Eine bildungsstatistische Momentaufnahme 2020/21. Gütersloh. https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/doi/10.11586/2022067