Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity? 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland

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Discovering the World with “everybody’s eyes”:
Reconstructing Curricula for all children

Prof. Dr. Walther Dreher
University of Cologne, Germany
walther.dreher@uni-koeln.de

Research Group and Contributers:

Prof. Dr. Walther Dreher (University of Cologne, Germany)
Dr. Simone Seitz (University of Dortmund, Germany)
Andrea Platte (University of Education Heidelberg, Germany)

The German school system is highly differentiated: Besides three levels of secondary schools (after four years of primary school), there are ten different types of special schools, referring to special types of disabilities. For each type of school there is a special curriculum valid. These curricula are also valid for each group of ‘special’ children in inclusive classrooms. Consequently inclusive classroom practice has to be justified by vertical structured curricula.

As to the leading idea of inclusion like it has been announced in the Salamanca Declaration 1994, our research group is on the way to create a structure for an inclusive core curriculum and inclusive classroom practice. The curriculum aims at non-separate education and welcomes natural heterogeneity of learning. Focusing inclusive classroom practice we develop didactic conceptions which support common teaching and consider the individual needs of explicit all children.

The workshop:

Starting with an introduction to our theme by Prof. Dr. Walther Dreher we report the essence of two studies originated in our research group.

1. In an empirical qualitative study diverse children’s views - from ‘severe disabled’ as well as from ‘severe abled’ children - towards the issue “time” got inquired. Thereby the methodological design transformed inclusive quality in the research process by open ‘interviews’. The study shows that the relation of child and topic cannot be described as a structure of ‘subject’ and ‘object’ but more as a circulation of experience and construction. In addition children’s views cannot be grouped in types like ‘normal’ and ‘deviant’ or vertical levels of cognitve development. Hence to the empirical results conclusions for inclusive classroom practice and for an inclusive core curriculum can be drawn. In the result a new view on community and diversity in constructions of topics by children and scientists gets initiated (Dr. Simone Seitz).

1. In close connection of theory and practice the second study focuses ways of   perceiving and designing ‘realities’ in heterogeneous groups (including ‘severe abled’   students as well as ‘severe disabled’ students). Different views towards one topic let it appear in its whole range of diversity, which means that human diversity gives the opportunity to experience the topic in its completeness (Andrea Platte).

In a synopsis the conclusions of both studies for the creation of an inclusive core curriculum and for inclusive classroom practice - focusing all children - will be presented.

Based on this it is possible to discuss different curricular und didactical approaches to diversity in classrooms. One main hypothesis for this discussion ist the thought that it’s not sufficient just to give all children the possibility to participate in the regular curriculum like it is suggested in the Declaration of Salamanca 1994. Rather we need to create an inclusive core curriculum which basically considers “everybody’s eyes”. Consequently it should be based on a new tradition of inclusive teaching and learning research focusing all children.

References:

Dreher, Walther (2000): Eine Gesellschaft für alle Menschen - ohne besondere Bedürfnisse. In: Behinderte 1, pp 50-57

Platte, Andrea (2005): Schulische Lebens- und Lernwelten gestalten. Didaktische Fundierung inklusiver Bildungsprozesse (Dissertation, University of Cologne)

Seitz, Simone (2005): Zeit für inklusiven Sachunterricht. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag

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