The school staff's perception of their ability to teach special educational needs pupils in inclusive settings in Finland
Recent studies have suggested that the professional training received by general educators does not adequately prepare them to properly implement inclusion-based practices. The idea of inclusion in practice has not significantly changed the situation of teaching pupils with special educational needs (SENs) in mainstream classes. This study's primary intent is to examine the factors that identify the school staff's ability to meet the needs of SEN pupils in their daily teaching situations. A total of 187 elementary school teachers, principals and teaching assistants in a Finnish city completed a structured questionnaire that used a self-evaluation method. Two components were generalised acco…
Contradictions as Drivers for Improving Inclusion in Teaching Pupils with Special Educational Needs
The aim of this paper is to enhance understanding of the contradictions that arise in the drive to improve teaching practices among pupils with special educational needs (SENs). A questionnaire was administrated to 167 classroom teachers, subject teachers, special education teachers and teaching assistants in Finland. The analysis, based on thematic coding and analysis of manifestations of contradictions, revealed contradictions related to artefacts of teaching, participation in the community and school staff’s professional ability to teach SEN pupils in mainstream. Four types of manifestations, namely conflicts, critical conflicts, dilemmas, and double binds, could be identified in the dat…
Collaboration for Inclusive Practices : Teaching Staff Perspectives from Finland
accepted in publication Collaboration between educators is considered to be the key issue when implementing inclusive practices within schools. An open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to extend the current understanding of collaboration between teaching staff. The questionnaire was administrated to 167 classroom teachers, subject teachers, special education teachers and teaching assistants in primary, secondary and special education public schools in Finland. Also, semi-structured interviews with 20 participants were used to deepen the understanding of the elements included in the teaching activity in diverse classrooms. The results indicate coordination, cooper…