Towards inclusive schooling policies in Finland: a multiple-case study from policy to practice

ABSTRACT

New education laws that emphasize inclusive ideology were recently introduced to the Finnish educational system. In this study, I examine whether these laws provide more inclusive practices and assess whether the changes in the laws meet the views of the participants on education. Semi-structured interviews with parents, teachers and assistants of three children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (age: 6–8 years) were conducted around the period of transfer from kindergarten to schools in three municipalities. The official municipality websites were examined to find types of classrooms offered. The results showed that classrooms did not meet all expectations of the participants and were not satisfactorily inclusive. To enable structure and safety, the classrooms should be smaller (in the catchment area school) and should include pupils with and without special education support to learn from and support each other. The importance of one-to-one interaction with professional staff was also emphasized. In conclusion, the effect of the new laws could be seen through varying and to some extent unequal organizing of special educational support in the municipalities.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• policy
• parental views
• multiple-case study

Acknowledgements

I would like to warmly thank Beata Stach-Lempinen, Sevcan Hakyemes and Joel Kivirauma for support and advice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Sonia Lempinen is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Education with a concentration in school choice and special educational support. More specifically her work examines social justice, policy and practice of the school choice phenomenon concerning children with intensified and special educational support.