Capability to be Educated—Inspiring and Inclusive Pedagogical Arrangements from Finnish Schools

Abstract

The idea and concept of inclusive education have been debated, and different interpretations of what inclusion means and to whom it conce rns have been presented. In this paper, we bring together notions of inclusive quality education, pedagogy, learning and teachers, and illustrate how the principle(s) of inclusion(s) has been enacted and translated into classroom practices in Finnish context. Drawing from Finnish teachers' narratives, we highlight successful, small-scale and creative pedagogical arrangements and teachers' sensitivity to recognise and commit to responding to the needs of diverse learners. Our argumentation is rooted in the capabilities approach. We carry out an evaluative exercise and examine how the classroom practices and teachers' understandings of their students look like through the capabilities conceptualisations.

Promoting Well-Being of Children at School: Parental Agency in the Context of Negotiating for Support

“…Inclusive culture respects differences and encourages engagement to provide all pupils with access to education (Ainscow, 2014). In inclusive environments, parents are recognized, respected, and active members in the classroom and school community (Mitchell, 2012), and teachers value parental involvement (Okkolin et al, 2018). Parental cooperation is also considered to be an effective inclusive practice (Mitchell, 2014), and the nonparticipation of parents is seen as a barrier to inclusive education (Kozleski et al, 2009).…”

“…Furthermore, a well-functioning, inclusive school community can be seen as a resource to parents in terms of supporting the well-being of their children (Illsley and Redford, 2005;Koskela et al, 2020). Similarly, teachers can see parents as a resource in terms of solving problems, cooperating, and supporting their work (Okkolin et al, 2018;Väyrynen and Paksuniemi, 2020). There is a need for an epistemological shift to make understanding of environments and local cultures of schools more visible in the everyday decision-making of teachers (Payne and Zeichner, 2017) and use interactive structures to support the well-being of both students and families with multiprofessional personnel from schools (Ainscow et al, 2006).…”

Do learning support assistants’ perceptions of their role support the capability approach? A small-scale study in a Jordanian international school

“…Sen defined the CA as falling into four categories in which to evaluate human life, namely: wellbeing achievements (also referred to as functionings) which concern the agency of students to function, and therefore includes issues of reliance on additional adults and their ability to make judgements on children’s functions; wellbeing freedoms (also referred to as capabilities) which concern the actual opportunity to accomplish what is valued, and thus how the LSAs enable and constrain these opportunities such as through the suitability of the curriculum delivered; agency achievements which concern the realisation of personal goals, including how and why LSAs facilitate and advocate for these personal goals; agency freedoms which refer to whether the child’s environment gives them freedom to do whatever they value (Sen, 1999: 36-38). Okkolin et al (2018) argue that Sen’s four categories (1999) constitute a CA framework which can be used to analyse data. In the current study, this framework was used to explore whether the LSAs’ perceptions supported these four categories of the CA.…”

“…In the current study, this framework was used to explore whether the LSAs’ perceptions supported these four categories of the CA. This framework was selected as the categories proposed by Sen have been utilised across different applications of the CA (Okkolin et al, 2018; Okkolin, 2016; Crocker and Robeyns, 2009; Terzi, 2007; Sen, 1999; Sen, 1992), so that conclusions could be drawn relating to the CA generally.…”

“…The present research, however, conceives of the data slightly differently, as it does not require a belief in the ‘interconnection between structure and agency’ (Okkolin, 2016: 104), and the voices of the participants are not held to speak concerning wider social structures. Although the framework as utilised by Okkolin et al (2018) and Okkolin (2016) was designed for data from Finnish students and Tanzanian female students, as it was based on research from a number of countries, including India and the global South, it seemed particularly suited to be used in an international school context.…”