The Second Fact-Finding Mission for Spain within the Erasmus+ project GovInEd – Governance Inclusive Education took place in Barcelona on 16-17.01.2023.
First day (16.01.2023)
The delegation of researchers from Ludwigsburg University of Education (Dr. Kerstin Merz-Atalik and Katja Beck) and from Leipzig University (Dr. Heike Tiemann and Stefanie Spiegler) were welcomed by Dr. Ester Miquel and Dr. Josep Maria Sanahuja from the University Autonoma of Barcelona (UAB) and the Catalan Department of Education. The goal of this Second Fact-Finding Meeting was the presentation of the first results of our project GovInEd in the Education Department in Barcelona (Generalitat de Catalunya – Departament d’Educació). The role of the Department and the other actors in the project is to share experiences, goals and governance strategies to develop a more inclusive education system. With the comparison of 4 European school administration regions (Bolzano/ Italy, Styria/ Austria and Tübingen/ Germany are the other partners) the project GovInEd tends to gain expertise on effective governance.
- To explore how and why coordination works (or not) at all levels of the governance system (multilevel governance analysis).
- To gain knowledge and experience that can be shared through the professionalization of stakeholders on the governance of inclusive education.
On the first day of the meeting, Ms. Maria Macià Golobardes from the General Directorate of Inclusive Education of the Department of Education of Catalonia was pleased to present the inclusive education system that is developing in Catalonia, with emphasis on current policies and their progress. Likewise, Dr. Kerstin Merz-Atalik and PhD Katja Beck from the University of Ludwigsburg (Germany) together with Dr. Heike Tiemann and PhD Stefanie Spiegler from the University of Leipzig (Germany) have presented:
- The PMNA methodology “Participative Multilevel-*Network Analyses” / “Anàlisi participativa de les xarxes multinivell” (Merz-Atalik 2019).
- The preliminary results of the round table meeting held in May 2022 with the actor network in Barcelona related to the PMNA Method.
After this the group visited the Special Education Center Sant Joan de la Creu, in which they have presented the actions they are carrying out as CEE and CEEPSIR (Special Education Center Provider of Services and Resources) to promote changes in the cultures, policies and practices of the educational centers.
Second day (17.01.2023)
The second day of the bilateral meeting took place between the team of professionals participating in the GovInEd project. The team is composed of: Dr. Ester Miquel and Dr. Josep Maria Sanahuja from the Centre d’Estudis i Recerca per a una Societat Inclusiva and Ms. Maria Macià Golobardes from the Direcció General d’Educació Inclusiva del Departament d’Educació de Catalunya met with Dr. Kerstin Merz-Atalik and PhD Katja Beck from the Ludwigsburg University of Education and Dr. Heike Tiemann and PhD Stefanie Spiegler from the University of Leipzig.
During the morning, the team was able to visit two educational centers in Cerdanyola del Vallès, the Institut Banús and the Escola Xarau.
We would like to thank the management and professional teams of both schools for their welcome, for showing us their facilities and for presenting us their educational projects, and in particular the actions they develop regarding the Inclusive Schooling Intensive Support (SIEI) so that inclusion is effective for all students.
The day ended with a presentation given at University Autonoma Barcelona by Dr. Kerstin Merz-Atalik where she explained the method “Participative Multi-Level-Network Analyses” carried out by the German research team to collect information in the GovInEd project (Erasmus+ project KA220-HED – Cooperation partnerships in higher education).
Thanks to all the professionals who attended the conference.