Lüneburg education region aims to transform schools

In an ideal world: What would school development and education look like if diversity and inclusion were optimally practiced?

In an ideal world, we would not need the concept of inclusion at all, as everyone would naturally be part of the whole. Frequently used terms such as “inclusion children” show how much the idea of inclusion is still not understood. In my opinion, ideal school development would focus on actual learning and future skills, as well as flexibly aligning curricula with the relevant contexts of the 21st century, rather than, for example, continuing to focus on grades, standardized exams, an outdated range of subjects, or the inappropriate use of standardized skills.

The ideal still seems out of reach. Where do you see the biggest challenges at the moment?

In addition to a lack of resources and professionalization, numerous studies show that the attitude of all those involved is crucial. I see a major problem in our understanding of inclusion. We argue in a way that is far too person-centered rather than systemic. A few examples: When the results of large-scale school performance studies such as PISA are published, the media, and sometimes even scientific articles, run headlines such as: “German students are performing worse than ever.” However, these studies actually evaluate the performance of education systems in an international comparison. Or let's consider the issue of classroom disruption in heterogeneous classrooms: In most cases, it is the students who are declared disruptive, instead of looking at whether the learning environment is actually stimulating and conducive to learning.

What does it take to overcome these challenges?

As a science educator, my focus is particularly on subject teachers. We are currently working on changing the perspective of teachers. It makes a big difference whether I say you don't know the technical language, or whether I admit that technical language is quite demanding and then create approaches that help all students. The setting, the space, and the learning opportunities are crucial here and can be adapted. We do not differentiate based on diagnosed learning requirements—that would only stigmatize the students unnecessarily. We make the learning opportunities accessible. And our learning support focuses on the barriers that arise when dealing with the subject matter.

Where does Lüneburg currently stand in this regard, and what opportunities do you see for the region?

Lüneburg has joined forces as an educational region to change schools. Stakeholders from the city and district are in close contact with us, scientists at Leuphana, politicians, parent and student representatives, etc., to offer students the best possible learning environments while at the same time reducing the workload of teachers and educational staff. The Leuphana Innovation Community School Development and Leadership provides a forum for discussion on the most important topics in school development: AI, sustainability, democracy, and diversity. This allows academia and school practice to learn from and enrich each other. This collaboration is a major step forward. For a long time, anyone who really wanted to make a difference could only do so by “disobeying” the system. This must come to an end, and evidence from empirical educational research must be taken seriously in order to develop schools in a meaningful way.

You have already mentioned cooperation between schools and universities. How can science specifically help to solve problems in schools?

Based on reliable empirical research results, we can advise education policymakers, second-phase seminar leaders, school administrators, and teachers. Our work would be much more effective if the Ministry of Education, the Regional State Offices for Schools and Education (RLSB), and the schools would join us in accessing a data warehouse to pursue evidence-based school development in Lower Saxony. Currently, we are observing highly committed schools that want to transform themselves but are doing so on a trial-and-error basis. As a result, processes take up to 20 years. Together, we could shorten this time frame. To do so, politicians, scientists, and practitioners must work together to change the system and value students as the wonderful individuals they are.