Inclusive Education as Exceptional Success or Systemic Reform? - Regional Newspaper Discourses in Two Federal German States with Contrasting School Systems
Inclusive education is internationally established as a human right, yet its implementation and public legitimacy remain contested. This study examines how inclusive education was represented in regional newspaper coverage in two German federal states with contrasting approaches to inclusive transformation. We conducted a longitudinal comparative content analysis of 210 articles published between 2009 and 2025 in two regional daily newspapers. The analysis combined LLM-assisted inductive categorization with quantitative coding of framing variables, actor perspectives, single-case reporting, and represented disability categories. Findings show substantial regional differences. One newspaper framed inclusion and disability as significantly more normalized, positive and systemic than the other. Thematic patterns also differed regarding the focus on resources, policy reform, and access to schooling, via a focus on good practice, segregated schooling, and support structures. Results are discussed in context of medical and social models of disability, agenda-setting-theory, framing-theory, the visibility dilemma of disability and newspapers’ influence on public opinion on inclusive education.