Special education as part of the educational system in Finland Finnish children go to school when they are seven years old. They can start preschool at the age of six, but it is not compulsory. Primary education lasts six years and secondary three years. After secondary school, pupils can either con- tinue their studies in upper secondary school or go to a vocational school. A free school meal is offered to everyone every day. Finnish teachers are well educated; from 1980 all class teachers have had to obtain a master’s degree. The programmes of study for special education teachers are nearly homogeneous in all Finnish universities offering this training, concentrating mainly on reading, writing, language and mathematical and behavioural issues (see Hausstätter & Takala, 2008). Special education teachers have a slightly higher salary than class teachers, and the profession is respected.
Earlyinterventionandearlysupportareconsideredimportant for children who have learning problems (Finnish National Board of Education, 2004; Ministry of Education, 2007). Intervention and support are offered immediately when dif- ficulties are noticed, first in the form of support teaching provided by the student’s own class teacher. If that is not enough, every school has access to the services of a special education teacher. Special education teachers mainly work in regular schools, and the most common way of organising this form of support has been a pull-out model (Klinger,Vaughn, Schumm, Cohen & Forgan, 1998; Ström, 1996; Huhtanen, 2000), where pupils in need of special educational support visit the special education teacher’s room during certain lessons. This support is initiated by the class teacher or sometimes the parents. The pupil remains in mainstream education, but is supported by a special education teacher on a weekly basis. However, if the pupil has severe learning difficulties, full-time special education can be suggested. This option merits further research, but this kind of segre- gated special education is not the topic of this article.
Delivering support Today almost every school in Finland has one or more per- manent special education teachers. Nevertheless, in rural areas and small schools this work is often carried out by peripatetic teachers. The children they teach have various learning problems (see Figure 1).
The profile of their work is different at the primary and secondary stages, as seen from Figure 1. Reading and writing is supported extensively at the beginning of compul- sory education. At the secondary stage, mathematics and foreign languages need support. One reason for problems in foreign languages is that Finland is a bilingual country and everyone has to learn both Finnish and Swedish. In addition, English is usually preferred as the first foreign language.
Regular financial support is given to special education in Finland by the Ministry of Education. Children with the status of special needs are funded 1.5 times more than chil- dren without this status. However, pupils receiving part-time special education do not normally qualify for this status. Another form of support is a pupils’ welfare team (Honkanen & Suomala, 2009). This type of team can be found in almost every school. It meets regularly and con- sists of various school professionals and parents.
Forms of inclusive special education The work of special education teachers in Finland seems to be somewhat similar to that of SENCos (Special Educa- tional Needs Co-ordinators) in the UK (for example,Abbott, 2007; Cole, 2005; Layton, 2005; Mackenzie, 2007; Szwed, 2007). SENCos are responsible for educational arrange- ments and related issues concerning pupils with special educational needs. They are responsible for identifying, assessing, overseeing and co-ordinating all special needs. In addition, they prepare individual education plans and provide guidance for teachers. They work in conjunction with a wide range of assistants, parents and therapists.All of this requires excellent organisational and problem-solving skills, as well as people skills (Abbott, 2007). The role of SENCos is wide and has widened. That is why many SENCos are overwhelmed by the operational nature of their role, with little support, time or funding to consider strategic aspects of special educational needs (Mackenzie, 2007; Cole, 2005). SENCos carry out their role in diverse settings, with considerable variations in how their role is interpreted (Mackenzie, 2007; Szwed, 2007). They operate in increas- ingly complex contexts within very different management structures (Szwed, 2007). The SENCo’s work varies accord- ing to factors such as the setting, time allocation and mem- bership of the senior leadership team. Mackenzie (2007) also notes a marked lack of consistency, over time and across contexts, in interpretations of the SENCo’s role, and points to variation in workload, status and position within school hierarchies. SENCos themselves argue that they shoul