Studying Special Education: How Inclusion Changes Our Perspective

What does it mean to study special education? And what is needed to ensure that people can participate in social life as a matter of course? Dr. Anne Goldbach and student Anna discuss this in the new episode of the hi@hszg podcast. It becomes clear that the bachelor’s program in Special Education/Inclusion Studies is not just about supporting individual people, but also about the conditions under which participation succeeds—or is prevented.

People with disabilities are at the heart of the program. At the same time, students learn to examine social disadvantage and societal structures: What barriers do people face in everyday life? What role do their environment or societal attitudes play? And what can be changed to make greater participation possible?

“What are this person’s conditions for participation? How can these be optimized, or which levers need to be adjusted?” Anne Goldbachdescribes this as a central question of the program.

Student Anna already brings practical experience from her previous training as an occupational therapist. Her perspective has shifted during her studies: It’s not about changing the person so that they fit better into their environment.

“It’s more about adapting the environment so that everyone can function well within it,”, says Anna.

As early as the first semester, students are encouraged to question what is often taken for granted. Why do we use certain terms? Why are structures the way they are? And do we simply have to accept them?

In addition to academic and disciplinary foundations, practical experience therefore plays an important role. Through several practical training phases, students learn to analyze a person’s living conditions and environment and to develop strategies for improving their participation in society. For her next internship, for example, Anna will return to a shared living community for people with disabilities that she is already familiar with from a previous practical training phase.

Dr. Anne Goldbach and Anna also discuss what it’s like to study in Görlitz on the podcast. Numerous seminars, manageable class sizes, and interaction with students from other disciplines shape everyday student life. Anna, who moved to Görlitz for her studies, describes the city as her “perfect middle ground” between a big city and her smaller hometown in the Spreewald.

Her advice to anyone still looking for the right degree program: don’t put pressure on yourself, gain practical experience, and take your time to figure out what really suits you.

In the new episode of the hi@hszg podcast, they explain exactly how the program is structured, what experiences Anna has had during her practical training phases, and what makes studying in Görlitz so special.