Current projects

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Project description:

The three-year Teacher Academy project "EQui-T" (European quality development system for inclusive education and teacher training) aims to contribute to the quality improvement of inclusive education in the European context and is funded by the European Commission in the Erasmus+ Partnerships for Excellence programme with 1.5 million Euros. The focus is on the development and exchange of inclusive open educational resources, OIER (Open Inclusive Educational Resources). The project will develop a comprehensive, multi-perspective catalogue of criteria for assessing the quality of OIER for inclusive education, run courses for teachers in initial and in-service training on designing and testing innovative teaching materials in the form of OIER for (technology-supported) inclusive education, and identify and sustainably implement best dissemination practices of OIER. Another aim is to build a network of teachers and other stakeholders in the field of inclusive education at national and international level to promote transnational cooperation and exchange of good practices in identifying and using existing (high) quality digital tools and materials (e.g. OIER).

Project partners: University of Graz, Austria; University of Granada, Spain; University of Padua, Italy; Tallinn University, Estonia; University of South-East Norway, Norway; University College of Teacher Education Styria, Austria; Private University College of Teacher Education Augustinum, Austria

RCIE researchers: Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera (overall coordination); Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Timo Lüke; Jessica Berger, BA MSc; Prof. Silvia Kopp-Sixt, BEd MA; HS-Prof. Mag. Edvina Bešić, MSc PhD; Prof. Dr. Martina Kalcher; Katharina Maitz, PhD BA BA;  Annalisa La Face, Mag. Dott.ssa; Daniela Ender, MSc

Duration: 15.06.2023-14.06.2026

Implement ICF

Implementing the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). Improving training and quality assurance processes of trans-sectoral support for persons with disability

Project description: The Erasmus+ project “Implement ICF” within the Key Action KA2 “Cooperation partnerships in vocational education and training” aims to introduce the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO, 2001) as a common language in the diverse sectors of services and support measures for people with disabilities and thus improve the quality of support and the participation of all involved beneficiaries. Following this goal, the project focuses on the creation and development of a concrete “ICF Implementation Guide” that will enable different institutions and actors in different fields - medical, health, social or educational field - to use the ICF in a structured way. The project and the project activities are implemented cooperatively by ten institutions from Austria, Germany, North Macedonia and Turkey.

Project partners: Austria: University College of Teacher Education Styria, Social Innovation Network Dr. Pretis; North Macedonia: Association for Promotion of Education, Culture, and Sport - Education for All, Association of Special Educators and Rehabilitators of the Republic of North Macedonia, NGO Imago Plus, Macedonian Medical Association, Association for Children's and Young People's Rights - Lastovica; Türkiye: Melek Academy - Dudu Melek Sabuncuoglu, Özel Eğitimciler Derneği (ÖZDER); Germany: MSH Medical School Hamburg.

RCIE Researchers: Mag. Katerina Todorova; Prof. Silvia Kopp-Sixt, BEd MA

Contact: katerina.todorova(at)er.phst.at

Duration period: 31.12.2022 – 30.12.2024

Planning additional educational support using the ICF: Plan-ICF

Project description: the Erasmus+ project “Planning additional educational support using the ICF: Plan-ICF” started on 01 October 2022. The project aims to introduce the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a common language in school support planning processes and thereby to improve the learning opportunities for students with developmental difficulties. The University College of Teacher Education Styria will work together with nine national and international partners in the next two years to implement the project activities and reach the project goals.

Project partners: Austria: University College of Teacher Education Styria, Social Innovative Network Dr. Pretis, Private University College of Teacher Education, Augustinum, DI Wilhelm Stadler; North Macedonia: Association for Promotion of Education, Culture, and Sport Education for All Skopje, Association of Special Educators and Rehabilitators of North Macedonia, Municipality of Centar, Skopje; Turkey: Melek Academy Dudu Melek Sabuncuoglu, Corum Rehberlik ve Arastirma Merkezi Mudurlugu

RCIE Researchers: Prof. Silvia Kopp-Sixt MA; Mag. Katerina Todorova;

Contact: katerina.todorova(at)er.phst.at

Duration period: 01.10.2022 bis 30.09.2024

me_HeLi-D

Mental health literacy and diversity. Enhancing Mental Health and Resilience through Digital Resources for Youth

Project description: The three-year Erasmus+ project aims to directly enhance mental health and mental health literacy, and more indirectly, to promote diversity-awareness among students. For this purpose, an evidence-based, adaptive, target group-specific, diversity-sensitive and freely available digital tool for students (aged 12-15 years) is being developed with the partner countries Bulgaria, Slovenia and Poland. The digital me_HeLi-D tool will be modular and include activities to promote mental health literacy, resilience, mindfulness, and help-seeking behaviors, as well as activities to prevent anxiety and depression. In a participatory approach, it will be co-developed with students and teachers from partner schools in Austria, Slovenia and Poland, rolled out in three countries, evaluated for its impact on students' mental health, and finally made freely available in four languages (English, German, Polish, Slovenian).

Project partners: University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland; Educational Research Institute (ERI), Slovenia; University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski“, Bulgaria; University of Graz, Austria (Lead); Primary School No. 11 with Integration Katowice, Poland; Elvira Vatovec Primary School Koper Slovenia; NMS Heiligenkreuz am Waasen, Austria

RCIE researchers: Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, Katharina Maitz, PhD MA BA BA, Michaela Wright, BSc MSc; Lea Hochgatterer, BSc MSc; Franziska Reitegger, BA MSc

Contact: franziska.reitegger(at)uni-graz.at  

Project duration: 01/09/2022 – 31/08/2025

Here you can find the first newsletter of the project.

SAID ̶ School Assistance - Inclusive & Digital

Digital Coaches support primary school students and teachers in dealing with digital media.

Project Description:

The Erasmus+ project SAID - School Assistance Inclusive & Digital addresses inclusive education from the perspective of the teachers: young people with learning disabilities support children and teachers as "Digital Coaches" in the digital world. The centerpiece of the project is the creation of a curriculum for the training to become a Digital Coach, which will be implemented in the partner countries Austria, Ireland and Finland.

You can find a detailed description of the project here.

Project Partners:

Verein atempo, Graz, Austria (project coordination)

SJOG (Saint John of God Hospitaller Services Group), Dublin, Ireland

TRYcamps, Porvoo, Finland

RCIE Researchers:

Ass.-Prof.in Dipl.-Sprachwiss.in Susanne Seifert, PhD

Valerie Fredericks, BA MSc

Yvonne Fasching, BA

Olena Sereda, PhD (zeitweise)

Contact: Valerie Fredericks, BA MSc

Duration Period: 6/22 – 11/24

Co-funded by Erasmus+ as a cooperation partnership in the field of vocational education and training

  • Inclusion-Friendly Classroom: The ICF as a Problem-Solving Tool for the Team Around the Child in Educational Settings - INCLUDE with ICF

Project description: The goal of the project is to increase the quality of education by increased participation and enhance inclusion and equity. The consortium consisting of eight partners creates synergies between different sectors related to education of students/pupils with disabilities by introducing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and providing team teaching methods. The objectives towards achieving the goal of the project are: a) to enhance the skills of educators towards a common ability-based and participation-focused language by using ICF; b) to increase (participation) goal orientation and inclusiveness in the classroom by means of an ICF evaluation tool; c) to increase team work in the “team around the family” and d) to promote inclusion by facilitating teaching processes based on reflective self-learning of teachers.

Project partners: 

Austria: University College of Teacher Education Styria and Social Innovative Network Dr. Pretis

North Macedonia: Education for All, Municipality Gazi Baba, Imago Plus and Association of Special Educators

Germany: MSH Medical School Hamburg

Turkey: Melek Academy Dudu Melek Sabuncuoglu

RCIE Researchers: Prof.in Silvia Kopp-Sixt MA; Mag.a Katerina Todorova; Prof.in Dr.in Andrea Holzinger;

Contact: silvia.kopp-sixt(at)phst.at

Duration period: 01.02.2022 – 31.01.2024

Find more information here.

 

  • Governance Inclusive Education – GovInEd

Project description: Inclusive education reforms and change processes are complex phenomena on various systemic and policy levels. The goals of the project are to explore how and why coordination or implementation does or does not work in all levels of the governance system (multi-level-analyses of governance) and to gain knowledge and expertise that can be shared through professionalization of stakeholders on governance of inclusive education. The project focus is on network analyses and involvement of all relevant actors and stakeholders in the context of inclusive education transformation processes and ongoing reform efforts in the participating countries Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain. The project results are focused on gaining fundamental insights for a successful governance for inclusive education through the country comparison and developing an international curriculum that is available as OER to all interested parties as an information and qualification tool.

Project lead:

Austria: University College of Teacher Education Styria

Project partners: 

Austria: Board of Education of Styria

Germany: Ludwigsburg University of Education, Leipzig University and Education Authority Tübingen

Italy: Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and Autonomous Province of Bolzano

Spain (Catalonia): Autonomous University of Barcelona and Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya

RCIE Researchers: Prof.in Silvia Kopp-Sixt, BEd MA; HS-Prof.in Mag.a Edvina Bešić, MSc PhD; Mag.a Katerina Todorova; Prof.in Dr.in Andrea Holzinger; HS-Prof. Mag. Mathias Krammer, MA PhD

Contact: silvia.kopp-sixt(at)phst.at

Duration period: 01.01.2022 – 31.12.2024

Find more Information on the website https://govined.eu/.

  • DIGIVID

Digital Competences Unleashed: Education and Training of Digital Competencies in the era of CoVid-19

Project description: From May 2021 to April 2023, the DIGIVID project will provide in-service training in online digital competencies for teacher educators and teachers who are either currently in training or already in service. This in-service training will be built around a widget that refers to the DigComp 2.1 framework. The widget will create a learning environment that teaches the DigComp competencies through differentiated learning objectives that can be worked through at one’s own pace. The use of this widget will be evaluated in in-process trainings (Austria, Germany, Norway).

Project partners: Graz University of Technology/Know Center (Lead); Dresden University of Technology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; University of Graz;

RCIE Researchers: Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, Ass.-Prof.in Mag.a Lisa Paleczek

Duration: 01.05.2021 until 30.04.2023

Link to the web page of the project: https://www.tugraz.at/institute/isds/research/projects/digivid/

  • HAND IN HAND

Promoting social-emotional competencies and diversity awareness among teachers in Europe

Project description: In their professional life, teachers need to respond competently to new challenges on a daily basis. The HAND:ET project, funded under the “Support for Policy Reform” action, is developing an innovative, universal program from March 2021 to February 2024 that aims to promote social-emotional competencies and diversity awareness among teachers. The program will be tested using a quasi-experimental design with control groups among primary and secondary teachers in Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden, Austria, and Portugal. The results will be summarized in guidelines and will be used as EU- and country-specific recommendations to address current structural challenges of the teaching profession.

In the first HAND:ET newsletter we inform you about news and updates on the current project activities, it is now available here!

Project partners: Educational Research Institute (ERI), Slovenia; Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport (MESS), Slovenia; Ministry of Science and Education (MSE), Croatia; Board of Education of Styria, Austria; DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), Germany;  Institute for Social Research in Zagreb (ISRZ), Croatia; University of Graz (Uni Graz), Austria; Mid Sweden University (MIUN), Sweden; Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), Portugal; Aarhus University (AU), Denmark; Network of Education Policy Centres (NEPC), International NGO

Associated project partners in Austria: PPH Augustinum

RCIE Researchers: Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, Ass.-Prof.in Mag.a Lisa Paleczek

Project duration: 28.02.2021-27.02.2024

Website: https://handinhand.si/en/       Newsletter: Newsletter 1  Newsletter 2 Newsletter 3

You can find a more detailed description of the project here

 

  • Digitalisation and inclusive education (DigIn) - Leaving no one behind in the digital era

Project description: The project “Digitalisation and inclusive education: Leaving no one behind in the digital era” aims to empower and professionalize teachers from different school types in the field of digital and inclusive education. By doing so, it hopes to increase the participation of students with disabilities in digital education.

Pursuing this goal, we will create a training for in-service schoolteachers who were primarily not trained to offer digital education for students with disabilities. The training will foster teachers’ digital competence and increase their capacity to support students with disabilities in either the inclusive classroom, in a blended learning format or during distance learning.

Project partners: PHSt and PPH Augustinum (Austria), Competence Centre for School Inclusion of the University of Bozen (Italy), DUGA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), OOU Hristijan Karposh and Education for all (North Macedonia).

RCIE Researchers: HS-Prof.in Edvina Bešić, PhD; Prof.in Dr.in Andrea Holzinger; Mag. Katerina Todorova; Prof.in Silvia Kopp-Sixt MA; Prof. David Wolhart, BEd; Prof.in Dr.in Martina Kalcher

Duration period: 2021 – 2023

Remember #LetsDigIn

Further information can be found on the website https://www.digin-education.at/

  • DigIDe

Project for the detection of dementia in people with intellectual impairment

Project description:The aims of this project are to design a digital tool and develop a prototype for the early detection of dementia in people with intellectual impairment. This is intended to minimize stressful situations that arise for caregivers due to dementia symptoms in people with intellectual impairment and to clarify possibilities for support and assistance. The tool is developed in a participatory process with all involved parties and is intended to facilitate the daily routine ofcaregivers and to expand their observation and communication possibilities.

RCIE Researchers: Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera; Dominik Pendl, BA MSc.

Duration: 01.04.2021 - 31.03.2023

Funded by the Styrian Chamber of Labour within the framework of the digitalization offensive.

  • ‘Scratch Options!’

Social problem-solving abilities and CT of 4th and 5th grade students

Project description: In the context of the advancing digitalization permeating all areas of life, digital competencies are gaining in significance. Therefore, digital competencies and Computational Thinking (CT) have to be addressed and promoted within the educational context. Focusing on these areas, however, should not lead to neglecting other fundamental competencies of students. This relates especially to social-emotional competencies and their promotion in school, as the individual abilities of students influence the social interactions in the classroom and thus class climate.

‘Scratch Options!’ tries to build a bridge, so that promoting social-emotional and digital competencies are not mutually exclusive, but complement and build on each other. In the project, students will program interactive stories related to social-emotionally challenging situations with the help of the child-friendly programming language Scratch (graphic building block system). Creating these stories should foster their social-emotional competencies, as well as their CT.

The goal is to develop, test and evaluate a type of joint promotion of these competencies (CT and social-emotional competencies) within the class structure, so teachers can rely on evidence-based interventions. The contents (social-emotionally challenging situations) should address concrete challenges within the classroom, in order to enable tailored interventions.

Cooperating partners: RCIE and University of Graz

RCIE Researchers: Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera; Katharina Maitz, PhD MA BA BA; Ass.-Prof.in Mag.a Lisa Paleczek, PhD;

Further information can be found here...

 

  • In-DIG-developments

Project title: Inclusion through digital school development - barriers and solutions due to Covid-19 (In-DIG-developments):

Project description: The project goal is to better understand the impact and the changes, caused by COVID-19 in primary and secondary schools in Styria. For this purpose, pupils, teachers, school directors and parents are surveyed using a mixed-method-approach. The involved persons are asked about their experiences of school inclusion and the associated changes in teaching methods and structure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The gained scientific findings regarding barriers and models for inclusive, digitally supported teaching and learning environments will be used to accompany and support future inclusive school developmental processes.

The first findings of the project were presented and discussed in an online workshop, which took place on November 11, 2020. The workshop focused on broad-based interdisciplinary exchange with different stakeholders. More information regarding this workshop can be found in the program (you can find the program in German language here).

This study is conducted in cooperation between the Research Center for Inclusive Education (RCIE), the research group of Inclusive Education and Special Education Psychology, led by Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Barbara Gasteiger-Klicpera, the department of Empirical Educational Research, led by Univ. Prof. Dr. phil. Heike Wendt and the Institute for Ethics and Social Teaching of the University of Graz. The project is implemented with financial support from the state of Styria.

  • Regio-Diff

Project description: The goal of this project was to prepare and transfer knowledge about the region of Styria. In 2019/2020 specialized texts about the regional characteristics of Styria were prepared by the project team and pupils from secondary schools. The prepared texts were differentiated and adapted based on the reading skills of the pupils and enriched with vocabulary exercises and reading strategies. These texts are used in primary schools in Styria in the school year 2020/2021 either as printed materials or embedded in the digital learning environment.

FZIB Researchers: Uni Graz: Prof.in Mag.a Lisa Paleczek, PhD; Ass.-Prof.in Susanne Seifert, PhD.; PPH Augustinum: Daniela Ender, MSc; Prof.in Dr.in Martina Kalcher; Prof. David Wohlhart

Project duration: 2019 - 2021

Funded by the state of Styria.

Link to the web page of the project: regionen-kennenlernen (uni-graz.at) 

  • Establishment of a Research Center for Inclusive Education

Project description: "Digital and social transformation in higher education" (in German language).

Brochure of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research: Digital and social transformation. Selected digitalization projects at public universities from 2020 to 2024. (Project description can be found on page 42, in German language).

An international jury rated 35 out of more than 70 submitted projects as eligible and worthy for financing. Among them, the project “Establishment of a Research Center for Inclusive Education” was selected for financing.

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Cooperating partners

 Private Pädagogische Hochschule Augustinum  Pädagogische Hochschule Steiermark  Universität Graz 

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