Professor Plöger, your work focuses on inclusion, diversity, and school pedagogy. Negative headlines are currently dominating the public debate. Where do you see the biggest problems in the school system right now?
The biggest challenge is clearly the issue of resources. Teachers, special education teachers, and classroom aides are often working at their limits. At the same time, classrooms are filled with children who have very different needs. Without sufficient staff and without structured, coordinated teams, this is nearly impossible to manage. Since the legal right to inclusive education was established in 2009, the system should have been consistently expanded. Instead, we’re seeing cuts in many places: Currently, many federal states are slashing funding for classroom assistants. Yet this is precisely where a crucial lever lies for successfully implementing inclusion.
In many places, special education schools are being closed, even though some parents say their children with special needs get lost in mainstream schools. How do you assess this development?
The crucial question is: What do we want as a society? Do we want to equip mainstream schools so that inclusion can work there? If so, there is a great deal of room for improvement—and this would ultimately lead to the elimination of special education schools and the transfer of all their expertise to mainstream schools. The path we’re currently on—namely, having special education schools on one side and a commitment to inclusion on the other—is, in my view, a dead end. The responsibility is shifted onto the parents. They must decide whether their child should participate in the mainstream system—where they might end up in a large class and receive insufficient support—or whether they should attend a special education school, i.e., a separate system. There, the child would receive specific support, but there is a roughly 75 percent chance that they would not earn a standard high school diploma.
We’re speaking generally about special education schools here, but there are actually very different areas of focus within special education—and thus very different challenges when it comes to inclusion.
Yes, in fact, the area of learning is the one most likely to be taught in an inclusive setting; this isn’t just about children with disabilities as defined by social welfare law. In the area of learning, as well as emotional-social development and language, other forms of discrimination often come into play and interact with one another. These areas of special education have a higher-than-average number of children who grow up in poverty. In addition, there are many children and adolescents who have migrated to Germany or are growing up in multilingual environments. They do not have a language development disorder per se, but end up in these special education categories due to discrimination within the school system. Here, different forms of disadvantage overlap.
You bring up the topic of language proficiency: Time and again, reports emerge about elementary schools where a large proportion of students are held back as early as first grade due to a lack of language skills. What solutions do you consider effective in this regard?
In my view, the most important starting point lies well before children start school. Germany begins compulsory schooling relatively late. Other countries rely on mandatory educational programs much earlier.
That is why we should significantly strengthen early childhood education. People still do not recognize just how important a lever early childhood education is. Daycare centers must be provided with sufficient staff and funding so that they can actually fulfill their educational mission. Models such as preschool or “welcome” classes may seem sensible at first glance, but they create separate systems once again. Children then experience a sense of not belonging right at the start of their educational journey. We should take this risk of exclusion seriously.
Teachers today face enormous challenges: varying levels of achievement, multilingualism, and children with disabilities or neurodivergence. Many parents fear that the overall level of achievement is declining due to these many demands.
First and foremost, we must acknowledge that the academic performance issues are real. We see the decline in skills; there’s no sugarcoating it. It’s alarming that so many children leave elementary school without being able to read and write properly—this should be causing a major outcry among parents and guardians. But sometimes, when I look at society as a whole, I get the feeling that the outcry isn’t loud enough, because it’s directed only at teachers and schools, not at education policymakers. Parents of school-age children are now a minority. During the PISA shock of 2000, the baby boomers were the parents. They were the largest group in society, and the outcry was massive. It was also the first PISA study; by now, a certain degree of habituation has certainly set in.
In fact, the outrage is justified: Our education system is currently failing to equip all children and young people with basic skills. However, the conclusion that teachers are responsible for this is incorrect. Many teachers are doing an extraordinary job under difficult conditions. The key is to provide schools with more staff.
Furthermore, a diverse student body does not automatically lead to poorer performance. Many studies show the opposite: Often, all children benefit when additional specialists—such as special education teachers—are brought into the classroom. The real key, then, lies not in less diversity, but in better framework conditions.
We’ve now talked about everything that’s going wrong in schools right now and just how enormous the challenges are. Looking to the future: What gives you hope?
I’m particularly optimistic about the future teachers. Many students today are much more attuned to issues of diversity and discrimination than previous generations. They know that they themselves can make a difference for children, even if they later encounter structural barriers.
I also see many schools—including here in Osnabrück—that are breaking new ground. They’re questioning traditional teaching methods, developing innovative concepts, and trying out new approaches. That gives me hope. Change takes time, but it’s already happening.
About the Author: Prof. Dr. Simone Plöger has been a professor of school pedagogy specializing in diversity and participation at Osnabrück University since April 2026. Her teaching and research focus on multilingualism, diversity, discrimination, and inequality in the context of school education, as well as on designing teacher training programs that are inclusive and critical of discrimination.
About the Series: In the interview series “UOS Asks,” experts from Osnabrück University speak with the press office about their research and share their perspectives on current and everyday topics. From politics to education, from art to AI—UOS asks.
Further information for the media:
Prof. Dr. Simone Plöger, Osnabrück University
Institute of Educational Science
