BegIN • University of Passau

Inclusive Talent Development in Lower Bavaria (BegIN)

Inclusive Talent Education in Lower Bavaria follows the guiding principle of ‘promotion on suspicion’. All school pupils have potential and should be encouraged accordingly. Support measures are offered to all school pupils, not just to those who can already achieve above-average results. Thus, inclusive Talent Education is not exclusively geared towards promoting high performance, as has been the case in gifted education concepts to date. Inclusive Talent Education draws out the diverse, dormant potential of all school pupils, regardless of their personal circumstances. In this way, Inclusive Talent Education takes a significant step towards educational equity.

The project ‘BegIN – Inclusive Talent Education in Lower Bavaria’ is a pilot project that was launched in October 2021 and aims to implement Inclusive Talent Education at nine schools in Lower Bavaria. The project is characterised by close cooperation between practitioners, school authorities and higher education institutions and is based on research results in the fields of talent education, inclusion and school development.

The theoretical basis of the project is the Quality Circle for Inclusive Talent Education (QuIB) by Hansen (2019). The QuIB defines Inclusive Talent Education as ‘the promotion of all school pupils, taking into account their individual strengths and weaknesses’. The central components of the QuIB are the development of a school culture that promotes talent and the advancement of all school pupils, regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. Within the framework of BegIN, school development measures are implemented in the five quality dimensions of the QuIB (teaching and learning, school community, school climate, leadership and management, resources).

Profile development: In this phase, the schools develop their individual profile in the area of Inclusive Talent Promotion.
Audit phase: During this phase, external experts audit the schools to assess the state of implementation.
Certification phase: Schools that meet the criteria of the Certificate are certified.
Re-certification phase: After three years, the schools are audited again to ensure the sustainability of the project.

School principals: They act as ‘door openers’ and are responsible for implementation at their location.
Steering groups: A steering group is formed at each school to accompany the process and coordinate the measures.
School development moderators: They support the schools in implementation and offer continuing professional development.
Subject experts: They advise the schools on specific questions.
Graduate teaching and research assistants from the University of Passau and the University College of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems: They provide scientific support for the project and evaluate the results.

Cooperation and exchange between the stakeholders are important components of the project. Formative observations of teaching at Viennese schools with a talent seal and further training events contribute to the professionalisation of teachers.

The first schools to receive the BegIN seal of approval

nach zweijähriger Pilot- und Entwicklungsphase sieben Schulen zertifiziert

Handover of the seal by Professor Christina Hansen, University of Passau, Rainer Haselbeck, President of the Government of Lower Bavaria, Richard Pirolt, Director of the Centre for Internationalisation, KPH Vienna Krems (left), Franz Schneider, President of the Government of Lower Bavaria, Head of Schools Division (right) © University of Passau

District President Rainer Haselbeck presented seven Lower Bavarian schools with certificates for their certification for the school development project ‘BegIN’. © Government of Lower Bavaria

On 20 November 2023, the first schools were awarded the ‘Begabungssensible Schule. Inklusiv’ (BegIN) seal of approval for talent-sensitive schools. As part of a certification ceremony at the government of Lower Bavaria in Landshut, seven schools were presented with their plaques in a festive setting. These schools were able to demonstrate in an audit process that they have sustainably developed location-specific, talent-sensitive cultures, structures and practices and have anchored inclusive talent promotion according to the BegIN concept in their school's long-term mission statement.

The project, which is a collaboration between representatives of the government of Lower Bavaria, the University of Passau and the Church College of Education Vienna/Krems (KPH), started in the 2021/2022 school year and the development of a competence centre for inclusive gifted education in Lower Bavaria through the scientifically supported certification of pilot schools, the corresponding qualification of educational professionals, and the establishment of mentoring and counselling structures.

The following schools have been successfully certified:

Primary school Sankt Martin in Deggendorf
Primary school Hohenpfahl in Kelheim
Primary school Landau an der Isar
Primary school Sankt Wolfgang in Landshut
Secondary school Sankt Martin in Deggendorf
Primary art school Sankt Peter and Paul in Landshut
Institute for Hearing and Speech (Special Educational Support Centre) in Straubing
The primary school Buch am Erlbach and the primary art school Haidenhof in Passau are currently still in the certification process.

Hofer Denise (2024). Die Implementierung Inklusiver Begabungsförderung - Eine Interventionsstudie zur Implementierung Inklusiver Begabungsförderung in Niederbayern. Dissertation. urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-15065
Hofer, Denise/Hansen, Christina (2024). Die Implementierung Inklusiver Begabungsförderung SchulVerwaltung Bayern aktuell, 04/2024, Carl Link Verlag.
Hofer, Denise/Hansen, Christina (2024). Die Implementierung Inklusiver Begabungsförderung SchulVerwaltung Wien aktuell, Carl Link Verlag. 2/2024, S. 56-59.
Rachbauer Tamara (2024). Chancen und Potenziale von Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) und Learning Analytics (LA) auf inklusive Begabungsförderung. #schuleverantworten, 1(4), 75–81. https://doi.org/10.53349/schuleverantworten.2024.i1.a390
Hansen, Christina/Hofer, Denise (2023). Pilotprojekt BegIN. Die Implementierung eines Begabungssiegels im Kontext Inklusion. In: Rogl, S. Resch, C., Bögl, E. Gürtler, B., Hinterplattner, S., Klug, J. Begabung verändert – förderliche Lernwelten erforschen, gestalten, implementieren. Waxmann. S. 243-247.
Hansen Christina (2019). Der Qualitätszirkel Inklusive Begabungsförderung (QuIB). Pilotvorlage für die Regierung von Niederbayern.

Project Management

Prof. Dr. Christina Hansen, Dr. Kathrin Eveline Plank, Dr. Tamara Rachbauer, MA, BSc, Manuela Jäger, Katja Reitmaier, Dr. Nina Bothe, Sophia Pöcheim - Chair of Education with a focus on Diversity Research and Educational Spaces in Middle Childhood	University of Passau
Mark Bauer-Oprée, Director of the Elementary and Middle Schools - Education, Instruction, and Quality Assurance; Franz Schneider, Director of the Schools Division	Government of Lower Bavaria
Professor Denise Hofer, Giftedness.Person.Potential Unit; Richard Pirolt, BEd, MEd, Director of the Centre for Internationalisation	KPH Vienna Krems

Chair of Educational Science with a focus on Diversity Research and Middle Childhood Education