Inclusion of students with disabilities in formal vocational education programs in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, individuals with disabilities have limited access to educational and vocational training opportunities. This study investigates prevailing challenges and opportunities for the participation of students with disabilities in vocational education programs in Ethiopia. Data for the study were gathered from the five biggest regions out of the 11 in the country by selecting two colleges of technical and vocational education from each region. A total of 110 trainers and 28 students with disabilities from the selected colleges completed the questionnaire. In addition, 30 regional and college-level administrators were interviewed. Finally, all 10 colleges were evaluated through direct o…

Pre-service Teachers’ Views on inclusive Education in Ghana

Pre-service teacher training has been identified as one of the key factors in the promotion of inclusive education. In this study, 200 final-year pre-service teachers from three colleges of education in Ghana were surveyed about their views and knowledge on inclusive education and special educational needs (SEN). The results showed that almost all of the participants had been introduced to the concept of inclusion during their studies. However, only one-third felt highly, or somewhat, prepared to teach children with SEN. The level of knowledge and feelings of self-efficacy were highest among those pre-service teachers who had personal experience of supporting children with SEN during their …

Teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of students with support needs

Teachers’ positive attitudes towards inclusive education are a prerequisite for its successful implementation. This study surveyed the attitudes of Finnish classroom, subject, resource room and special education class teachers (N = 4567) towards inclusive education. The results indicated very low support for the concept. Its acceptance was strongly associated with the specific teacher categories and the concern that inclusive placements would cause extra work for teachers. Teachers who were confident in their support networks and had sufficient access to educational resources, such as an in‐classroom teaching assistant, were more positive towards inclusion than other teachers. Attitudinal v…

Lines of development in social research on disability in Finland between the years 1970–2010

This article reviews the development of social research on disability conducted in Finland during the 40-year period from 1970 until 2010. The main focus is the connection of the research with the socioeconomic development of the country. The review starts from the emergence of a new disability service paradigm during the late 1960s. This new paradigm centred around the concept of rehabilitation, and had its roots in the birth of a postmodern welfare state during the same decade. The second shift began during the 1980s and was characterized by the precedence of human rights issues. Both of these changes paralleled international developments, but equally had their roots in the Finnish post-w…

School performance of children from monogamous and polygamous families in Nigeria

Scholastic success of Nigerian children coming from polygamous ( n = 50) and monogamous families ( n = 156) was compared. No differences between the two groups were observed across background variables of demographics, parental education and occupation, or family support for schooling. There were no differences in the Junior Secondary School Entrance Exam scores between the groups. However, children from polygamous families reported more difficulties in mathematics and English than their counterparts from monogamous families. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research.

Incidence of savant syndrome in Finland

The general incidence of Savant Syndrome was assessed in Finland. First, a survey was made of all 583 facilities which served people with mental retardation. Second, letters asking for information regarding people with Savant Syndrome were published in two key Finnish journals of the field. We received reports of 45 cases of Savant Syndrome. This makes an incidence rate of 1.4 per 1,000 people with mental retardation. The most common form of exceptional skills was calendar calculation, followed by feats of memory.

Frequency of co‐teaching in different teacher categories

Co‐teaching – or the use of more than one teacher in a classroom – has been commonly recommended as a means to promote inclusive education. The aim of the present study was to survey the actual frequency of co‐teaching among different teacher categories in the comprehensive school level in one Finnish city. The data were collected through a questionnaire answered by two representative samples of teachers including 117 resource room teachers in the first survey, and 317 teachers of various teacher categories in the second. The results showed that co‐teaching was a widespread phenomenon among resource room teachers and special class teachers but less frequent among other teacher groups. Overa…

Parental Perceptions of the Use of Coercive Measures on Children with Developmental Disabilities

Background Children with developmental disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviour are potentially subject to the use of coercive interventions. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of the use of coercive measures by authorities, according to parents’ reports. Materials and Methods A postal survey was distributed, as a total population study, to 946 Finnish parents of children with developmental disabilities, between the ages of 5 and 15, and who were entitled to the highest disability allowance. Results Of the respondents, 54 (22%) answered ‘yes’ when asked whether their child had been subjected to coercive procedures by authorities. The parents had seldom approved the…

Generalized effects of dry bed training on day-time incontinence

Challenging behaviour, and staff responses to it, in residential environments for people with intellectual disability in Finland

The frequency and severity of challenging behaviour in all 261 adult residents of a single special care district in Finland were assessed using the modified version of the Scales of Independent Behavior Problem Behavior Inventory. The results showed that 70% of the residents with intellectual disability exhibited challenging behaviour that was considered to be more than a mild problem by the staff. The incidence of dangerous behaviour was 10%. Some form of negative intervention (restraints, punishment or environmental restrictions) was used for 56% of cases in which challenging behaviour was exhibited. Punishment was the most common consequence for dangerous behaviour. The staff in the smal…

Authorship in Facilitated Communication: An Analysis of 11 Cases

Abstract. We studied the authorship of messages produced through facilitated communication (FC) for all users of FC in two comprehensive schools in a small city in Finland. The participants were 11 children with intellectual disabilities, including autism, all having used FC from 1 to 3 years. The test conditions involved open and blind information-passing tasks in which the participants were directed to write down the contents of written or pictorial stimuli. The results failed to validate FC as a method of communication for any participant or facilitator. An analysis of the messages produced under the FC condition revealed a large degree of facilitator influence on the content of the mess…