Learning Support Teams: An evidence-based model for inclusive schools.

Inclusive education is increasingly understood as a systemic and equity-oriented process and current approaches emphasize participation, accessibility, collaboration, and the removal of structural barriers to learning and participation. Inclusive education has become a central educational goal, yet many schools experience challenges in implementing inclusive practices sustainably in everyday school life. Schools are confronted with increasing diversity and complex educational demands. Teachers and school leaders often experience high workload and uncertainty when implementing inclusive practices. Research shows that successful inclusive education depends not only on individual competencies but also on professional collaboration, supportive school cultures, leadership, and organizational capacity. (e.g., Ainscow, 2020; Fullan, 2016; Merz-Atalik, 2025; Carpelan & Lahtero, 2025; Yada & Savolainen, 2023). Importantly, teachers’ and principals’ attitudes, self-efficacy, and multiprofessional collaboration are key factors in successful inclusive education (e.g., Bandura, 1997; Jantunen et al., 2025; Savolainen et al. 2020; Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004; Yada et al., 2022).

Learning Support Teams (LST) were developed to respond to these challenges. LST provide rapid and low-threshold support directly within schools and help educational professionals collaboratively develop solutions for challenging classroom and school situations. The project aims at strengthening inclusive school cultures, supporting sustainable school development, and improving participation and well-being for students and professionals alike (Wolters Kohler et al., submitted). In addition, the project evaluates this evidence-based support model of inclusive school improvement.

The project is conducted collaboratively by the University of Teacher Education in Special Needs, Zurich, Switzerland (HfH) and the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH). The research design is guided by a Design-Based Equity Research (DBER) framework (Kerr & Ainscow, 2024), an approach that combines iterative development processes with a strong focus on equity, inclusion and systemic transformation. The LST model is treated as a flexible and evolving support structure that is continuously refined through iterative cycles of implementation, evaluation, and redesign in collaboration with schools and local authorities, situated in authentic educational settings. Learning Support Teams consist of two to three highly qualified professionals who provide support directly within schools. LSTs support teachers, principals, special educators, and school teams in planning, implementing, and evaluating inclusive practices, collaboration processes, and school development activities. A training programme as well as team supervision are provided for LST by the universities.

The research follows a longitudinal mixed-methods design between 2025 and 2028 and combines:

• Longitudinal online questionnaires
• Group discussions with Learning Support Teams
• Case studies in selected schools
• Interviews with school stakeholders
• School observations
• Document analyses

The multilevel research design involves:

• Learning Support Teams
• Teachers
• Principals
• Special educators
• School welfare teams
• Students
• Parents
• Local school authorities

The questionnaires examine longitudinally:

• Attitudes Towards Inclusion (AIS, Sharma & Jacobs, 2016)
• Concerns about Inclusive Education (CIES-SF, Sahli Lozano et al., 2022)
• Professionals' self-efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP-SF, Sahli Lozano et al., 2023; PSE, Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004; Carpelan & Heinonen, 2025)
• Professionals' Intentions To use Inclusive Practices (ITICS, Sharma & Jacobs, 2016)
• Professionals' multiprofessional collaboration (Till & Kolb, 2022; Drossel, 2015; Drossel & Willems, 2014; Ufermann, 2024)
• Professionals' work overload and job dissatisfaction (Enzmann & Kleiber, 1989; see also Delgrande Jordan, Kuntsche, & Sidler, 2005)
• Professionals' Subjective norms about inclusive practices (SNIPS, Gülsün et al., 2025) Professionals' perceived usefulness of LST and intention of use (self-developed)
• Students' Subjectively Perceived Inclusion in school (PIQ-S, Venetz et al., 2014)
• Parents' Perceptions of Inclusion (PIQ-P, Venetz et al., 2014)

The project currently includes schools in Canton Aargau, Canton Zurich, and the Principality of Liechtenstein, with additional regions expected to join in later project phases.

The project aims to develop an evidence-based and transferable support model for inclusive school development.

Expected outcomes include:

• strengthened professional self-efficacy
• enhanced multiprofessional collaboration
• reduced concerns regarding inclusive education
• reduced workload and stress among educational professionals
• improved student participation and learning support
• sustainable organizational structures for inclusive education
• guidelines for implementation and professional training of LST

The project also aims to generate transferable design principles that can support inclusive school development in different educational contexts.

The project addresses a central challenge in education: How schools can respond sustainably and equitably to increasing diversity. Rather than focusing solely on individual learners or classroom interventions, the project conceptualizes inclusion as a systemic and organizational process.

A major innovation of the project is the integration of rapid, on-site support with long-term school development and research-based refinement. By embedding Learning Support Teams within local educational structures and involving multiple stakeholder groups, the project seeks to strengthen sustainable inclusive practices.

The multilevel-actor approach enables analysis of how professional learning, leadership, collaboration, and student experiences interact across different levels of the educational system. At the same time, the iterative DBER framework allows the support model to be continuously adapted based on empirical findings and practical implementation experiences.

The project also contributes methodologically by combining ecological validity with theory-driven longitudinal analyses in real-world educational contexts. In addition, the project contributes to international discussions on equity-oriented school development and provides empirical evidence on how multiprofessional collaboration and organizational support structures can promote inclusion.

Learning Support Teams provide schools with flexible and collaborative support in challenging educational situations while simultaneously strengthening long-term inclusive school development. The project contributes evidence-based knowledge on how inclusive school cultures can be strengthened through multiprofessional collaboration, leadership support, and organizational development.

The project offers evidence-based knowledge and practical guidance for:

• schools,
• municipalities,
• cantons,
• and higher education institutions

The long-term goal is to establish sustainable support structures that enable schools to respond effectively to diversity while maintaining high-quality education and participation opportunities for all learners.

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