Finnish reform of the funding and provision of special education: the views of principals and municipal education administrators

Abstract

This study examines the current state of special education provision and resources in Finland after the extensive reform of the government transfer system and Basic Education Act implemented in 2010-2011. Data were collected from a survey of compulsory school principals and from interviews with the highest-ranking officials in municipal education administration. The results show that participants viewed the Basic Education Act as having a more significant impact on the provision of special education than the reform of the government transfer system. Partly due to the reforms, local authorities have targeted the resources of special education differently and used resources more effectively.Continued efforts are needed to ensure the provision of resources for part-time special education and the use of other forms of early intervention in general education classrooms.

Principals’ views on changes in the provision of support for learning and schooling in Finland after educational reform

“…In Finland, the latest reform of special education in compulsory education (preschool education and Grades 1-9) was put into effect in 2010-2011. In 2010, the funding of special education changed from student weighting to being census based (Law 1704(Law /2009; see also Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016), and in 2011, a new tiered support model came into effect (Law 642/2010). However, the reform began before legislative changes.…”

“…In Finland, one of the essential goals of the reform was to guarantee students' right to timely support. At the same time, however, concern was expressed over the reform's effects on the availability of sufficient support (Education and Culture Committee of the Parliament of Finland, 2010; see also Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016). Finnish municipalities and schools have been allowed to implement the reform without strict restrictions and to take into consideration the local context when designing support for learning and schooling (Björn et al, 2016;Jahnukainen & Itkonen, 2016;Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016).…”

“…At the same time, however, concern was expressed over the reform's effects on the availability of sufficient support (Education and Culture Committee of the Parliament of Finland, 2010; see also Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016). Finnish municipalities and schools have been allowed to implement the reform without strict restrictions and to take into consideration the local context when designing support for learning and schooling (Björn et al, 2016;Jahnukainen & Itkonen, 2016;Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016). This kind of autonomy can promote changes at the municipal and school level (Pijl & Frissen, 2009), but it also likely induces differences among municipalities and schools in supporting students (e.g., Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016;Thuneberg et al, 2013).…”

“…Finnish municipalities and schools have been allowed to implement the reform without strict restrictions and to take into consideration the local context when designing support for learning and schooling (Björn et al, 2016;Jahnukainen & Itkonen, 2016;Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016). This kind of autonomy can promote changes at the municipal and school level (Pijl & Frissen, 2009), but it also likely induces differences among municipalities and schools in supporting students (e.g., Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016;Thuneberg et al, 2013). Despite national regulations, the support a student receives can therefore depend on which municipality he or she lives and which school in that particular municipality he or she attends.…”

“…A few studies concerning the latest reform of the Finnish special education system have been published (see Ahtiainen, 2017). Some of them (Pesonen et al, 2015;Pulkkinen & Jahnukainen, 2016;Thuneberg et al, 2014) have studied the implementation of the reform in municipalities and schools whereas others (Björn et al, 2016;Jahnukainen & Itkonen, 2016) have compared the Finnish support model with Response to Intervention (RTI) in the US. So far, however, little attention has been paid to the support arrangements or their changes at the school level after the reform and to the factors related to these arrangements or changes in them.…”