Special education in <scp>S</scp>wedish and <scp>F</scp>innish schools: seeing the forest or the trees?

Takala, Marjatta; Ahl, Astrid

doi:10.1111/1467-8578.12049

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…David and Kuyini (2012) found that changes in teachers' attitudes have occurred during the last decade partly due to teachers experiencing working with special needs. This is congruent with Takala and Astrid (2014) who noted similar trends among Swedish and Finnish teachers.…”

Section: The Role Of Teacherssupporting

confidence: 91%

To include or not to include : Teachers’ social representations of inclusion of students with Asperger syndrome

Linton¹

2015

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Section: The Role Of Teacherssupporting

confidence: 91%

To include or not to include : Teachers’ social representations of inclusion of students with Asperger syndrome

Linton¹

2015

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“…However, educational policies on inclusion vary from country to country (Ahsan and Sharma, 2018;Takala and Ahl, 2018). Local policy has a decisive impact; however, the broad category of SEN carries numerous legal benefits (UNESCO, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Hungarian teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education of SEN students

Magyar

Krausz

Kapás

et al. 2020

Heliyon

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The purpose of the current study is to identify Hungarian teachers' perceptions of special educational needs (SEN) and to explore their teaching practices in relation to ICT tools involved in classes with both SEN and typically developing students. A hypothesized model was developed and tested based on the relevant literature to map the relations of the variables. The research was conducted among primary and secondary school teachers (N ¼ 121) using an adapted version of the Audit of provision for students with special educational needs self-evaluation scale (Stack, 2007), which was rounded out with ICT issues and background data on teachers' knowledge of SEN practices acquired at university. A path analysis showed significant links between the teaching-and learningrelated factors on the scale. We also observed significant relationships between ICT variables, but the effect between the two factors is rather limited. The quality of curriculum provision is the only significant factor which has a significant effect on using ICT teaching material. Our model also highlighted that teachers' knowledge of SEN acquired at university represents a determining factor in using ICT tools in SEN education. Teacher trainees who acquire comprehensive knowledge in their university education courses on teaching SEN students possess more profound skills to deal with them and possess higher-level competences in using ICT in their teaching practice. This study demonstrates that teaching SEN students in an integrated education system poses unique challenges; therefore, it is a relevant topic and an issue to be addressed. Our hope is that the results from this study will be useful in the future for schools and teachers educating students with special educational needs and that the findings will improve the overall understanding of inclusive education among schools and teachers.

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“…SEN teacher training in Finland comprises theory and practice, related to individual and small-group instruction, e.g. application of various assessment tools, support in reading and writing, mathematics, and communication, but also in behavioral and socio-emotional challenges (Takala & Ahl, 2014). Respectively, Finnish class teacher training provides readiness to instruct a whole class within general education and adapt that instruction according to children's needs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Teachers’ Ability to Identify Children at Early Risk for Reading Difficulties in Grade 1

Virinkoski

Lerkkanen

Holopainen

et al. 2017

Early Childhood Educ J

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The aim of the study was to investigate what kinds of assessment practices class teachers and special educational needs (SEN) teachers use in assessing first grade students' pre-reading skills (letter knowledge and phonological skills). Further, we investigated to what extent teachers were able to identify difficulties in pre-reading skills of the lowest achievers. The accuracy of teacher ratings of students' pre-reading skills was studied by comparing teacher ratings to actual test scores. The data from two Finnish longitudinal studies were used: JLD sample (class teachers, n = 91; SEN teachers, n = 51; 200 students) and First Steps sample (class teachers, n = 136; SEN teachers, n = 34; 598 students). Results showed first, that most class teachers used qualitative assessment and SEN teachers also relied on tests. Secondly, although teacher ratings correlated with the test scores, closer investigation of sensitivity and specificity of the teacher ratings revealed that a number of children in need of extra support for their early reading development according to test scores remained unidentified. Moreover, there were some students identified by the teacher to have difficulties despite test scores not confirming that. The findings underline the importance for developing more specific and reliable assessment tools for teachers to use for pedagogical purposes, and respectively, the need to pay more attention to early identification of reading difficulties in teacher training program curricula.

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Special education in Swedish and Finnish schools: seeing the forest or the trees?

Cited by 18 publications

References 26 publications

To include or not to include : Teachers’ social representations of inclusion of students with Asperger syndrome

To include or not to include : Teachers’ social representations of inclusion of students with Asperger syndrome

Exploring Hungarian teachers’ perceptions of inclusive education of SEN students

Teachers’ Ability to Identify Children at Early Risk for Reading Difficulties in Grade 1

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