The Interconnection Between Formal Inclusion and Internal Exclusion: How the `Training Room´ Program in German Schools Seeks to Improve Classroom Discipline, but in Doing so Inhibits the Development of a Participative and Empowering Learning Culture (ePub)

Since 2003, the `Training Room¿ Program (TRP), a time-out model that is based on the American `Responsible Thinking Process¿ (RTP), has become established in German schools in response to students' increasingly challenging learning and social behavior. School administrators and academics alike recommend the implementation of the TRP as part of their efforts to conform to the UN convention in order to ensure the success of inclusive schooling for students with emotional and social needs. But in doing so, formal inclusion and temporary exclusion within the school become interconnected. The results yielded by this program evaluation show that there is to date no convincing empirical evidence as to the effectiveness of the TRP. On the contrary, the data indicate that the TRP actually has a negative impact on teaching and learning processes and on the culture of the school as a whole. While the TRP aims to enhance levels of classroom discipline and relieve pressure on the teacher, the program simultaneously impedes the development of a participative and empowering learning culture, even though it is precisely this factor which is indispensable for the successful inclusion of learners with emotional and social needs. The TRP's educational ideals and its conception of human beings are also a serious cause for concern. The conclusion outlines alternative concepts which are more suitable for the provision of inclusive schooling for students with emotional and social needs.