The project “School INCLUSIVE Cultural Education” investigates how a modified school culture helps develop respect and openness towards cultural diversity and contributes to an awareness and understanding of aesthetic factors in everyday life. It also aims to foster students’ appreciation of their own creative engagements. School administrators in participating states develop strategic targets and support the schools in this process. This includes the implementation of the cultural education program as a set of representative tasks that cuts across individual subjects and stakeholders. This conception of necessary school-wide changes and improvements is based on the strategic and pedagogical decision to integrate art, as an instructional and learning method with both artistic and cultural dimensions, in all subjects and areas. In addition, culture has a privileged place in school life outside of classroom instruction. Cultural events mark important school events, establish rhythm in school life (school celebrations, newspaper, exhibitions, theatrical productions, choir, reading competitions, etc.) and help develop a sense of community and tradition. The aimed-for integration of new methods and instruments through the cooperation of teachers, artists and cultural facilitators achieves a qualitative change in learning opportunities. The pedagogical approaches, oriented towards collaboration and participation, enable changed perspectives in the school environment, open new creative avenues, and help with the overcoming of tradition-bound expectations. Practical guidelines for the implementation of cultural education in the school will be an outcome of the project “School INCLUSIVE Cultural Education.” The particular challenge of developing a quality program for school development with and through methods of cultural education will be taken up and developed. Ensuring that all children have access to the offerings is an essential goal; accordingly, integration and intercultural competence are important components of cultural education. Diverse cultural identities and means of expression will be valued in an inclusive school. Educational offerings and programs will be individualized, and the development of students’ abilities will be assessed with differentiated methods and individualized indicators. To test these innovative means of assessment and disseminate the results as practical guidelines is a focal point of the work on this project. In addition, the project’s ongoing effectiveness will be achieved by the jointly conceived modular training concept. The modules, embedded in already established regional training structures, enable a flexible reaction to diverse institutional requirements, addressee groups and thematic emphases. This facilitates the goal of passing on to other teachers the project’s creative approaches to developing and valuing cultural diversity, and encourages them to adapt alternative, indicator-based evaluative forms and differentiated reporting means for learning outcomes, as well as pass on pragmatic experiences, at their own schools.
In the project "Schule INKLUSIVE Kulturelle Bildung", teacher, cultural agents, artists and employees within the school and cultural administrations of Berlin, Vienna and Berne have observed, discussed and elaborated how projects of cultural education contribute to school culture and change school life. They experienced how pupils developed respect and openness for cultural diversity and the importance of artistic and cultural encounters through these special and very creative offers. The different forms of appreciation in the form of presentations, often in front of a larger group of spectators or listeners, had a special significance. A total of four project meetings were held with participants from the partner regions. Each project meeting had a thematic focus on the project objectives. All project meetings included practical input through school visits and participation in projects of cultural education as well as deepening joint work sessions. In Berlin and Vienna public multiplier events with about 100 participants each took place to incorporate a broad specialist publicity and to disseminate the project results and ideas. The jointly developed practical guide is the result of a negotiation process by many stakeholders involved in cultural education in the three countries. We understand it as an attempt to summarise many impressions made during the project. The guide is intended to encourage and support the initiation of projects of cultural education in schools or to enter into long-term cooperation with cultural institutions or artists. This is the way in which, from our point of view, a sustainable change in school reality is possible. Based on this guide, a modular qualification concept was developed for teachers, trainer and artists which serves the initiation, implementation and support of projects of cultural education in school. The concept includes six modules, which build on one another and can also be implemented separately. The participating school administrations support the schools in the implementation of cultural education as a cross-disciplinary task at the school. This conception of necessary school-wide changes and improvements is based on the strategic and pedagogical decision to integrate art, as a learning method with both artistic and cultural dimensions, in all subjects and areas. The pedagogical approaches, oriented towards collaboration and participation, enable changed perspectives in the school environment, open up creative access and help to overcome traditional expectations. We are convinced that cultural education and the participation in culture are a central response to the challenges of a constantly changing society. The partners in Berne took part as associated partners in this Strategic Regional Partnership between Berlin and Vienna and have thus enriched this project.