Awareness of Heterogeneity. Empirical Findings on How Prospective Schoolteachers Perceive Heterogeneity in the Classroom

Two scientific disciplines, Cultural Science and the research stream on Inclusion in Schools and Education, have experienced a similar change of paradigm, when they both let go of their dominant criterion to distinguish between groups and widened their view to an endless variety of so-called dimensions of heterogeneity. In this context, the construct “Awareness of Heterogeneity” has been designed. It describes, how (prospective) schoolteachers perceive heterogeneity among their pupils. Respective empirical findings show, which dimensions of heterogeneity they expect to find at school, which ones they detect in a concrete setting, and how they rank and evaluate them. This leads to the question, if their consideration of heterogeneous classrooms as an enrichment and/or challenge varies with the kind of dimensions of heterogeneity they have in mind