The inclusion of all children in regular classrooms is an important aim in many European countries. For the implementation of inclusion some children rely on support via learning and support assistants. Despite the benefits assistants provide by enhancing student access and progress, assistants' support has also been criticised for contributing to…

The transition of youths with disabilities from mandatory schooling into further education or vocation is still a major challenge for inclusive measures in the Austrian transition system. In the last decade, projects from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), including 'Participatory experiences in the vocational biography of persons with intellectual…

Social participation is a crucial condition for successful learning in inclusive primary schools. Unfortunately, students with non-compliant classroom behaviour are at risk of being socially excluded from their class. Recently, students' attitudes have been identified as the central indicator of the social participation of students with…

Empirical studies already examined various facets of the friendship construct. Building on this, the present study examines the questions of how the number of friendships and their quality differ between students with and without SEN and whether a homophily-effect can be identified. The sample consists of 455 fourth-graders from 28 inclusive…

This paper presents results of a comparative study about assistance services for supporting students with disabilities in regular schools in five European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovakia and the UK). Besides the analysis of relevant documents on assistance services, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with learning and…

The lockdown of schools in Austria and many other countries due to COVID-19 posed challenges to the school system and especially for teachers of at-risk students. Within the INCL-LEA (INCLusive Home LEArning) study, 3,467 teachers (2,839 females) from all nine Federal States in Austria participated in an online survey after the first school…

In inclusive education, learning and support assistants (LSAs) play an increasingly prominent role in supporting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Previous research has identified various factors that influence the implementation of inclusive education, such as collaboration and the self-efficacy beliefs amongst the involved…

This computer-based study evaluates whether teacher feedback can have an effect on the acceptance of children with and without disabilities in inclusive, special and regular schools. The social acceptance of four children shown in photo vignettes (child with Down Syndrome, child in a wheelchair, child with migrant background and child with no…

One concern for teachers and schools is how to implement inclusion. This paper examines its implementation at the teacher and class level in Styria, (a state in Austria). To do so, a qualitative study with expert interviews was conducted. Twenty-five experts from seven schools and four Centres for Inclusion and Special Education were interviewed.…

Successful inclusive education creates a learning environment that supports not only the cognitive abilities of all children but also their social and emotional development. The present study focuses on the development of social participation of students with and without special education needs (SEN). A longitudinal study with two measurement…

This paper seeks to compare the evolution of inclusive education policy in the four countries of an EU-funded research project (QualiTYDES) operating under the shared policy environment of the UN, EU and European Commission. A shared policy cannot of course be assumed to result in common legislative or provisional outcomes at national level. The…

The aim of this contribution is to shed light on the following questions: to what extent are labour market policy measures accessible for women and men with ID (intellectual disabilities)? What is the reality of transition to employment for this target group? What is the success rate of women and men with ID accessing labour market policy measures…

The "Attitudes Towards Integration Scale" (ATIS) assesses the attitude of the general public towards the school integration of children with disabilities. The scale was empirically created in a pilot study (n=351) and later used to survey 2158 people. The data from both surveys are analysed in the present paper; the results show that the…