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The changing nature of special educational needs in schools
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Special Education.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3699-8610
Number of Authors: 32025 (English)In: Alter;European Journal of Disability Research ;Journal Europeen de Recherche Sur le Handicap, ISSN 1875-0672, E-ISSN 1875-0680, Vol. 19, no 4, p. 71-92Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article focuses on the dynamics of inclusive education in the German school system by examining ocial statistics on pupils with formal individual education plans (IEPs) in special and general schools since 2007. An IEP manifests that a pupil with a formally identified disability receives specialised schooling, instruction, extra support, or related services. German IEPs, although they are assumed to have educational consequences, draw heavily on medical categorisations based on DSM and WHO definitions of disabilities and disorders. For this reason, IEPs show the peculiar relationship between medical and (special) education logic in inclusive and special education. From our longitudinal perspective, several intriguing phenomena illustrate frictions and regulative failures when inclusive education is implemented in country-specific school systems. We show that in the German case, the number of pupils with IEPs enrolled in general secondary schools has increased significantly. At the same time, the number of pupils in special schools remains stable. Moreover, only certain school forms are drivers of inclusive education in a tracked system such as the German system. Finally, we show the dynamic nature of special education categories employed for the pupil population with IEPs enrolled in general schools over time. Certain IEP categories grow in number while others decrease or stay stable. By applying a system-theoretical approach, we explain such dynamics as being due to opposing logics in health and education systems, which must be balanced in the practice of inclusive education.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. Vol. 19, no 4, p. 71-92
Keywords [en]
Individual Education Plans (IEP),  Inclusive Education,  Special Education Categories,  System Theory,  Germany
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-251255DOI: 10.4000/15ai6ISI: 001673775400005OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-251255DiVA, id: diva2:2028790
Available from: 2026-01-15 Created: 2026-01-15 Last updated: 2026-05-04Bibliographically approved

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Wermke, Wieland

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