Search results for "Special education."

2021

In recent decades, an essential global aim of the reforms of special education has been the promotion of inclusive education. This article discusses the implementation of reforms with a focus on tiered support systems in the context of Finnish comprehensive school education. Based on earlier literature, legislation, and administrative documents, we provide a background for Finnish education policy and special education reforms. The focus of this article is on the description of parallel reforms targeting the re-structuring of the systems around support for students and funding of education in the 2010s. We discuss the processes leading to these reforms and the reforms themselves. In additio…

Revista electrónica interuniversitaria de formación del profesorado

2016

Actualmente la inclusión es una de las mayores prioridades tanto del ámbito educativo como de la sociedad en general. El trabajo que exponemos se enmarca en el seno del debate abierto en torno a las distintas opiniones y creencias existentes sobre el tema. Concretamente, mostramos los resultados obtenidos en un estudio de caso, al evaluar las percepciones del profesorado y familias del alumnado de un aula de Comunicación y Lenguaje valenciana, sobre el proceso de inclusión realizado a lo largo de sus cinco años de funcionamiento. A través de un diseño de investigación mixto utilizamos instrumentos de recogida de datos cualitativos tales como la entrevista y la observación participante así c…

Tukivastemalli (Response to intervention model)

2021

Tukivastemalli on oppimisen ja koulunkäynnin tuen suunnittelua ja toteutusta selkeyttävä toimintatapa, jota voidaan hyödyntää minkä tahansa taidon tukemisessa kolmiportaisen tuen mallin kaikilla portailla. Tukivastemallissa tuen tavoitteiden määrittely ja kohdennettu tukitoimien suunnittelu perustuvat huolelliseen, yksilölliseen alkuarviointiin oppilaan tuen tarpeesta ja ymmärrykseen siitä, mistä oppilaan yksilöllisissä oppimisen pulmissa on kyse. Tuki kohdistetaan siihen kehitysvaiheeseen, jossa oppilas kehityksellisesti on ja niihin osataitoihin, joissa oppilaan kehitys edellyttää tukea. Oppimisen tuen suunnittelun yhteydessä suunnitellaan, miten ja kuinka usein oppimisen edistymistä ja t…

The Many Faces of Special Education Within RTI Frameworks in the United States and Finland

2015

Response to intervention (RTI) can be considered an everyday practice in many parts of the United States, whereas, in Finland, only recently has a new framework for support in learning taken shape. Choosing Finland as the comparative partner for this policy paper is justified as its educational system has been widely referenced on the basis of good Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. The results of the present comparative article showed first, that the U.S. RTI was primarily intended for diagnosing and preventing learning disabilities whereas the Finnish RTI is mainly an administrative structure for support. Second, the U.S. RTI includes clear definitions regardin…

Teacher satisfaction at the educational placement of students with special educational needs

2016

This study conducted a large-scale survey to investigate the satisfaction of Finnish primary school teachers toward the current educational placement of their students with special educational needs (SEN). Teachers were asked to recommend the most suitable educational placement for each of their SEN students from a pool of six alternatives: a mainstream classroom, part-time special education, a special classroom in the mainstream school, a special school, a state special school, or an institution. Data were obtained from 980 students representing 68 schools. The results showed that, in the majority of cases, teachers recommended a different level to the current level of placement for their …

An analysis of English teachers’ self-efficacy in relation to SEN and disability and its implications in a changing SEN policy context

2016

AbstractPolicy and practice in relation to meeting the diverse needs of all children, including those with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, is in a state of change in the UK. As a result, there is growing interest in and understanding of the need to focus on factors which impact on teachers’ levels of self-efficacy in meeting the needs of learners with SEN, and the implications of this for further development and training. The research reported in this paper gathered data from teachers at a unique time in the transition of policy and practice in England. Through a quantitative analysis of a questionnaire completed by 213 teachers from a variety of teaching settings, data re…

2018

Positive teacher attitudes are essential for success when children with special educational needs (SEN) are placed into mainstream classrooms. The present study surveyed teachers’ attitudes towards...

Teacher attitudes towards the inclusion of students with support needs

2019

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…

Struggling for inclusive education in Japan and Finland: teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education

2019

The aim of this study was to analyse and compare teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in two culturally different countries: Finland and Japan. A sample of 362 Finnish and 1518 Japanese teachers participated in this survey. The teachers’ attitudes varied and were rather critical. The Finnish teachers were more worried about teachers’ efficacy when implementing inclusion, particularly when teaching students with intellectual disabilities or emotional and behavioural problems. The Japanese teachers had a more positive view on the benefits of inclusion for disabled or non-disabled students. Because Finnish schools emphasise the effectiveness of special education, the Finnish teacher…

Conceptions associated with sense of belonging in different school placements for Finnish pupils with special education needs

2015

AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine conceptions associated with sense of belonging (SEBE) in Finnish general and special school placements for pupils with special education needs. Five pupils were selected for this study by means of purposive sampling. They had a history of several school placements prior to arriving at their current special school. Qualitative phenomenographic analyses of interview transcripts revealed numerous conceptions regarding the pupils’ SEBE in the different educational placements. The pupils had undergone numerous placements in which their SEBE had been jeopardised, as disturbing relationships with teachers and peers seemed to have affected the pupils’ me…