Rune Sarromaa Hausstätter

The Core of Special Teacher Education: A Comparison of Finland and Norway.

In this paper, the situation of special teacher education in Finland and Norway has been analysed from three perspectives: how the curricula of special teacher education differ between and within the countries; whether inclusion is included in special teacher education; and how the special teacher education curricula reflect the national requirements. The result of this analysis shows a high degree of variation in Norwegian special teacher education, in contrast to a quite homogenous situation in Finland. Inclusion is shown to be a central part of the fundamental discourse of special needs education in Norway whereas this feature is not so central in Finnish special teacher education. The plurality seen in the Norwegian situation reflects the national discussion on the role of special needs education in relation to individualised education solutions. This discussion is partly critical of the marginalisation tendencies of special needs education. The official solution is to work towards an inclusive school using child‐centred strategies – one of which is special needs education. In Finland, special needs education forms a part of the national goal of high‐quality education, and inclusion is not mentioned. The Norwegian situation can be problematic for schools, pupils and parents because it is not possible to anticipate the kind of knowledge and help a special teacher can give. This situation can also diminish the professional identity of the special needs teacher. In Finland, the core of special needs education and the common knowledge shared by special needs teachers are very clear. However, in that country the role of inclusion is weak.

Can special education make a difference? Exploring the differences of special educational systems between Finland and Norway in relation to the PISA results

This article discusses the differences in special educational systems in Finland and Norway in relation to the PISA scores. By comparing the Finnish system with the Norwegian, we have found that the strong focus both on early intervention and on reading and writing in Finland have positive effects on this countrys PISA results. The situation in Norway is different, where there is less use of early intervention and a markedly weaker emphasis on reading and writing within special education. We discuss these differences in relation to these countries’ different cultural orientations with respect to education in general and to special education in particular.

In Support of Unfinished Inclusion

This article claims that the radical potential inherent in the origins of inclusive education has been altered into a tool for protecting the status quo. Drawing on ideas from the essay ‘The Unfinished’ by Thomas Mathiesen (1971), I discuss inclusion as a potential alternative to mainstream education and argue that the potential power of change in this alternative view of schooling is greatly reduced because the inclusion movement, as it is appears today, tends to offer finished solutions. To create a viable alternative to mainstream education requires an understanding of unfinished inclusion because this opens an uncertainty within education that may make the established system more open to change. The unfinished will in this way restore the disruptive potential of inclusive education.

Students’ reasons for studying special needs education: challenges facing inclusive education

This article attempts to clarify some of the problems and challenges currently met by the teaching profession in special education, in particular those relating to why students choose to study special needs education and what they expect to learn. There are two major reasons why students choose to become a ‘special needs’ teacher: to help those who underachieve in the classroom and to improve their qualifications for the labour market. This investigation also shows that students expect teacher training to offer methodological guidance on how to intervene as special education teachers. The answers proposed are connected to different theoretical perspectives in the special needs area, so that challenges met when implementing inclusive education are highlighted. These findings emphasise that it is in fact special needs teaching’s own tradition and practice that impede working towards an inclusive education.

Tocqueville on democracy and inclusive education: a more ardent and enduring love of equality than of liberty

Drawing from some of the insights on the democratic condition made by Alexis de Tocqueville, this article examines critically the reasons given for inclusive education and the motives behind its growing popularity in western industrialised countries. In particular, we consider the supposed benefits of democratisation and equality that proponents of inclusive schooling usually claim. After summarising the benefits that advocates of inclusive education have articulated, we give a brief sketch of Tocqueville’s analysis of democratic societies. His observations have demonstrated that democratisation and equality are not necessarily healthy impulses in a democratic society because they have the propensity to smother individual freedom and dissent from commonly held opinions. Accordingly, we argue that the very claims of democratisation and equality are inherently problematic and are potentially inimical to individuals’ ability to judge independently. In other words, we argue that democratisation and equality are not necessarily compatible with liberty. We conclude, then, that an educational system that does not prioritise and protect intellectual development for sake of inclusion can only exacerbate these deleterious democratic tendencies. We also assert that inclusive policies reflect the relentless pursuit of equality that democratic peoples exhibit to their own disadvantage.

Towards an Ethics of “Research Programmes” in Special Education

This article presents an analysis of the different perspectives and ideologies within the evolving field of special education research. This examination has claimed that Imre Lakatos’ notion of “research programmes”, which allows for a plurality of directions of research, provides a valuable guide for understanding the development and current state of special education. Furthermore, the idea of research programmes has an ethical dimension that can be effectively applied to special education. The concept of research programmes reminds special educationists that they are faced with fundamental choices when they commit themselves to a particular research programme within the field. Even after the original choice of a programme has been made, researchers must continue to exercise vigilance to ensure that their programme remains, or at the very least eventually becomes, progressive. Finally, this article has suggested a general direction to follow for the establishment of a common ethical standard across all research programmes in special education.

An Alternative Framework for Conceptualizing and Analysing Special Education Research.

According to Kuhn, a paradigm is shared by the people who belong to the same scientific field, and a mature science is governed by a single paradigm that sets the standard for legitimate work within the particular science. In the field of special education research, scientists have used the concept of paradigm to explain how they approach the area of special educational needs. In Skidmore’s conception, there exist three parallel paradigms as a framework for special education research. Does this plural understanding of special education needs research make it useful or legitimate to use the concept of paradigm? The aim of this paper is to present an alternative way of conceptualizing and analysing the area of special educational research. In order to do this the ‘research programme’ model proposed by Lakatos provides the source of inspiration. This model entails the conceptualizing of several research programmes and how they can act simultaneously without necessarily competing with each other. In the area of special education needs, this will help the researcher to find ways of handling different theoretical perspectives with the goal of establishing pedagogical tools.According to Kuhn, a paradigm is shared by the people who belong to the same scientific field, and a mature science is governed by a single paradigm that sets the standard for legitimate work within the particular science. In the field of special education research, scientists have used the concept of paradigm to explain how they approach the area of special educational needs. In Skidmore’s conception, there exist three parallel paradigms as a framework for special education research. Does this plural understanding of special education needs research make it useful or legitimate to use the concept of paradigm? The aim of this paper is to present an alternative way of conceptualizing and analysing the area of special educational research. In order to do this the ‘research programme’ model proposed by Lakatos provides the source of inspiration. This model entails the conceptualizing of several research programmes and how they can act simultaneously without necessarily competing with each other. In the area ...

Effects of History and Culture on Attitudes toward Special Education: A Comparison of Finland and Norway

This paper discusses the role of special education in Finland and Norway. There are major differences in how special education is understood in these countries. The different perspective that Finland and Norway have on the concept of inclusion is also striking. The PISA test results show that the Finnish school is performing well, partly because of flexible part-time special education; the early intervention strategy also plays a role in this success. These aspects are making Finnish schools inclusive; support is offered immediately when it is needed without any bureaucratic process. An effective teacher education program is also a key element in creating a successful school system. Norway’s relatively weak educational results could mean that despite their strong focus on inclusion, Norwegian schools are not inclusive. The quality of special education is debated. If it is true that special education is helping to create success in schools, then clearly there is a need to discover more about the different systems and what factors may influence that success. Despite the close geographical and political relationship between Norway and Finland, there exists clear differences in the educational area.

An article concerning romanticism, nationalism and the moral argument in special education

Within the inclusion debate, the concepts of participation, equality, fraternity, liberty and democracy are often used by those favouring the inclusive perspective. These concepts are used to create a distance between traditional special education and inclusive education that seems to be grounded in a moral argument in favour of inclusive education. In order to better grasp the consequences of the moral argument in special education this article explores some of the mechanisms underlying the debate between traditional special education and inclusive education. Based on some major claims presented in childhood research, I focus on aspects of the history of childhood in relation to romanticism and nationalism. The claim made in this article is that the historical framework of childhood, related to romanticism and nationalism, creates a moral opposition that can be used to support praxis both for traditional special education and inclusive education.