The German Association for Special Education (vds) is breaking new grounds towards an inclusive educational system.

Inclusion means, that all educational institutions adapt to the versatile and individual needs of all human beings. In doing so inclusion provides both framework and foundation of education contributing prevention, integration, cooperation, activity and participation as well as various choices of further promotion.

Understanding an education of variety seen in a lifelong context, one must consider three decisive guidelines:

• The guideline of inclusion – all persons find relevance, dignity, and appreciation in mutual education.  
• The guideline of resources – the provision of resources allow for a reduction of barriers and genuine participation in inclusive education.
• The guideline of subject – a dialogic process helps every individual develop their personal strengths and a positive self-concept.

Inclusion is a long-term process preventing exclusion of particular groups inside a society. Inclusion needs to meet the following criteria:

• Inclusive education centres the needs and the specific interests of each individual.
• Inclusive education is oriented according to the key points of self-determination, activity and participation in all physical and spatial modes offered.
• Offers of inclusive education consider the parents’ right of choice in every case.
• Offers of inclusive education realise basic principles of every person’s participation and empowerment as well as the protection and care in social responsibility.
• Individually fitting offers help develop the prosperity of all persons with a disability and persons in danger of developing a disability.
• Highly-qualified competence in special education is the inalienable requirement needed.

To get the process of inclusive education going, socially accepted attitudes and behaviour must change and resources must be allocated accordingly.

Federal school law must be developed further to meet the aims of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

• a regularised basic principle of mainstreaming as enforced by law and responsibility for regular schools for all children - with or without handicaps
• a legal title to choosing the  place of support
• the protection of the resources needed
• the implicitness of an aim-differentiated tuition
• appropriate compensation of disadvantages and individual assistance
• Qualification for mainstreaming tuition in all university courses in teaching
• extensive additional professional qualifications
• medical, therapeutic and custodial offers as regularised integrated services
• securing a broad and independent advisory service
• involvement of the civil society

Acceptance and appreciation of the various pre-conditions, competences and possibilities of all children and adolescences lead to a common improvement of mainstream living and learning at school. They are the indispensable foundation of a society based on solidarity and humanity.

The acceptance of otherness and variety as well as the acquaintance with diversity and the inclusion of all humans into the community are both social commitment and duty. Diversity and heterogeneity are a society’s enrichment.

The German Association for Special Education (vds) builds upon this vision’s power and seeks to conduct the steps towards an implementation of the UN convention in a committed, critical, and constructive way.