Reforming policy, changing practices? : special education in Finland after educational reforms

2019

The aim of the research was to examine the changes in special education practices following the funding reform in 2010 and the reform of the Basic Education Act in 2011. The research focused on studying if the practices in municipalities and schools have changed according to the aims of the reforms. In addition, the research examined variations in the practices and changes among municipalities and schools as well as the factors that explained the variations. The research was based on three kinds of data: a survey of principals (N = 335), interviews with high-ranking officials in the municipal education administration (N = 7), and the official statistics for special education in municipalitie…