Studying for a teaching profession in Special Education and Inclusive Pedagogy

Focus area: Emotional and Social Development

The funding priority area of emotional and social development addresses the causes of, the identification of, and the educational interventions for age-inappropriate and atypical difficulties in the perception and regulation of emotions, in understanding other people’s perspectives, and in communication and relationships with them.

The causes are examined from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on fields such as psychology, education and medicine. Scientifically-based educational interventions aim to support the social-emotional learning and social integration of children and young people with behavioural difficulties. In line with the multifactorial approach to understanding the causes, multi-professional cooperation plays a key role in this context.

Focus area: Intellectual Development

In the area of special educational needs focusing on intellectual development, we support people with varying degrees of intellectual disability. This affects them throughout their lives, from childhood right through to old age. We show trainee teachers and professionals in Special Needs Pedagogy how they can provide support and educational opportunities in all areas of life in accordance with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Our aim is to support individual educational pathways, regardless of whether the person attends a specialist support centre, is educated in an inclusive setting or receives out-of-school education. We also aim to foster the skills that enable people with intellectual disabilities to lead self-determined lives.

Focus area: Learning

In the special educational needs specialism focusing on learning, we address learning difficulties arising from challenging learning and life circumstances. The aim is to understand learning and its complex determining factors, as well as to identify possible causes of learning difficulties. In doing so, we examine both challenging learning situations – such as difficulties in acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills – and discrimination and challenging life circumstances, such as those arising from experiences of poverty, migration or displacement. Ultimately, the subsequent master's programmes will prepare you to plan, design and evaluate inclusive learning environments against this backdrop. This also includes consultancy work in the field of innovative organisational, school and teaching development.

Focus area: Language & Communication

The ‘Language & Communication’ support focus addresses the needs of people who experience difficulties with their language and communication skills. This involves an interdisciplinary approach that brings together various specialist fields such as education, linguistics, medicine and psychology. Both in theory and in practice, we address these impairments in the areas of education, teaching, support and therapy, in both school and non-school settings. Our focus spans the entire lifespan of people with language and communication impairments. It is a truly exciting and varied field!

Presentation of the ‘Language & Communication’ specialisation (pdf)