Towards Inclusive Special Education? On the Future of Secondary School Special Educators' Work in Finland

Overview & Synopsis

Although Nordic countries are committed to developing inclusive education, a gap often exists between policy, ideals, and the realisation of inclusion in practice. In Finnish schools, part-time special education is an important tool for promoting inclusive education in the three-tier system. In this study, our research questions were: (1) What should be the main objectives of secondary school special educators' work in schools striving for inclusion? and (2) Should their work with these main objectives be called inclusive special education? A total of 102 special education teachers answered an electronic questionnaire. Qualitative content analysis was performed on the data. In terms of what the main objectives of special education teachers' work should be, four categories were found: support for students and teachers, guiding the school towards inclusion, special education in separative settings, and collaboration. Based on our results, we claim that special education teachers' work can to a certain extent be called 'inclusive special education'.