Tensions in the New Millennium : Inclusion Ideology and Education Policy in the Finnish Comprehensive School

This article examines the discrepancy between the ideology of inclusive education and the national education policy in the Finnish comprehensive school education. The study covers twenty years and is based on observations that indicate that the change in comprehensive school education, grounded in inclusive education ideals, has been slow. This has been the case, even though Finnish education policy has, on principle, committed to many international statements that promote inclusion ideology. The data consists primarily of statistics indicating the number of students in special education and national and international research on the subject. It confirms our supposition, but also the fact t…

Becoming an Inclusive Teacher at the Interface of School and Teacher Education

The aim of this study is to assess how the pedagogical solutions of the inclusive teaching practice in class teachers' adult education programme support the development to become an inclusive teacher. What kind of interpretations do the students make of inclusion and inclusive school? How does the participation in school community with reflective support by teacher education community enhance inclusive professional orientation? The research material consists of qualitative network material written by 22 adult students: teaching practice plans, reflective practice stories and teaching practice feedback. The analytical approach was thematic text analysis. Inclusion was interpreted as pupils’ …

Aikuisopiskelijoiden opiskeluun kiinnittymisen tukeminen yliopisto-opintojen alussa

Aikuisena opettajaksi : aikuisopiskelijoiden merkittävät oppimiskokemukset opettajan työn ja opettajankoulutuksen vuorovaikutuksessa

The Role of Previous Workplace Learning in the Development of Adult Teacher Students’ Professional Expertise

This research describes and seeks for more understanding of the role of previous workplace learning for adult teacher students and its relationship to the development of their professional expertise. Previous refers here to earlier months or years of work in schools for adult students who are now starting their teacher education studies. This research aims to answer the following questions: In what kinds of work situations and contexts have teacher students learnt? How does this learning manifest in teacher students’ working life stories? The research material includes 80 working life stories of adult students who are just starting their teacher training to become Finnish class teachers, ph…

Tensions in the New Millennium : Inclusion Ideology and Education Policy in the Finnish Comprehensive School

This article examines the discrepancy between the ideology of inclusive education and the national education policy in the Finnish comprehensive school education. The study covers twenty years and is based on observations that indicate that the change in comprehensive school education, grounded in inclusive education ideals, has been slow. This has been the case, even though Finnish education policy has, on principle, committed to many international statements that promote inclusion ideology. The data consists primarily of statistics indicating the number of students in special education and national and international research on the subject. It confirms our supposition, but also the fact t…

Inkluusioideologian ja koulutuspolitiikan jännitteitä 2000-luvun suomalaisessa peruskoulussa

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan inklusiivisen kasvatuksen ideologian ja kansallisen koulutuspolitiikan välistä ristiriitaa suomalaisessa peruskoulukasvatuksessa. Tarkastelun aikaperspektiivi on kaksi vuosikymmentä ja sen takaraja on 1990-luvun loppu. Artikkelin taustalla ovat havainnot, joiden mukaan inklusiivisen kasvatuksen ihanteiden mukainen koulun muutos on Suomessa toteutunut länsimaisittain varsin hitaasti. Prosessi on ollut hidas, vaikka suomalainen koulutuspolitiikka on periaatteellisella tasolla sitoutunut keskeisimpiin kansainvälisiin julkilausumiin edistääkseen osaltaan inkluusioideologian mukaista koulun kehittämistä. peerReviewed

Building of the adult students' expertise and identity in the teacher's work which precedes the teacher education

This research describes adult students’ significant learning experiences in teacher’s work prior to teacher studies. The research material comprises of 39 essays written by the students of class teacher programme for adults in the beginning of the programme. The experiences at work has opened up the positive and tense sides of teaching and offered a realistic mirror to assess their own suitability for the profession. What was learned through practice created a bridge to studying the new theoretical material in teacher education. However, adult’s learning in a school context and at the teacher education is different. Education should utilize and examine critically the knowledge of adult stud…