How to enable pre-service teachers to design technological teaching and learning inclusively? – On the nature and consideration of basic needs in teacher training

Theoretical approaches to the transformation towards an inclusive educational system in Germany mostly agree on the involvement of developmental tasks in subject related research (Hinz, 2011). The common understanding of inclusion as a process geared towards equal participation of all children (Booth, 2012) requires a reflexive questioning of established values, attitudes and practices in order to develop inclusive subject related research, teacher training and teaching and learning (Pech & Schomaker, 2013). Among other things, this results in consequences for the design of pre- service teacher training. To a large extent, teacher education is driven by the promotion of central competencies, interests and self-efficacy (Baumert & Kunter, 2011). It aims towards the development and realisation of inclusive interdisciplinary science and social studies (‘Sachunterricht’) in primary education (Moser, 2018). In conjunction with largely acknowledged constructivist approaches to teaching and learning (Möller, 2001), the development of personality, the consideration of basic needs (Deci & Ryan, 1993) and promotion of individual potentials are repeatedly fundamentally represented in subject related and pedagogical considerations (Feuser, 1989; GDSU, 2013). Therefore, the aforementioned constructivist approach is connected to several certain key paradigms for teaching and learning processes (e.g., Vygotskij, 1978; Posner et al., 1982; van de Pol et al., 2010). In this regard, the nature of primary school students’ basic needs have empirically not been sufficiently studied yet. Theoretical frameworks from motivational psychology (Deci & Ryan, 1993) do not explicitly address how individual needs differ and how the diversity of needs can be included in joint-learning, multi-perspective technology education classes. The research project the present paper is part of aims to develop a research-based concept for the professionalisation of pre-service teachers in a seminar course. Therefore, the promotion of the pre- service teachers’ interests and self-efficacy expectations have been assessed in a pre-post research design with a control group visiting another course not related to technology education and inclusion. The present paper describes and discusses first results of the project and will give an outlook on subsequent developmental tasks.