Pedagogical Traditions and Conditions for Inclusive Education

The idea of “a school for all” has been on the agenda for a long time both within disability research and educational practices. Experiences however show that there is a long way between idea and realization of that idea. This article looks into conditions to develop an inclusive school from the perspective of different pedagogical ideas and traditions. It argues that one roughly can distinguish between two pedagogical traditions with different ideas about such things as learning, knowledge, teaching and diversity. It also argues that there is no self-evident correspondence between pedagogical ideas manifested in today's educational practice and pedagogical ideas the pedagogues of today hold for true

Perimeters of, and challenges to, the jurisdiction of Swedish special educators : an exploration of free text responses

Special needs educators (SNEs) have important roles in many education systems. However, their roles are often poorly defined, and differ greatly both between and within education systems. Studies show that SNEs have diverse tasks, have problems defining their jurisdiction, and approach special support with different perspectives than other professions. Here, the aim is to explore what Swedish SNEs express regarding their occupational role and jurisdiction, utilising 676 free text responses to an open question in a total population survey. The results illustrate that SNEs often have to take on tasks they do not view as appropriate and that they often experience misunderstanding from head teachers and colleagues about their roles and tasks, and that they risk being replaced by other professions. Some explanations can be found in vague legal definitions of their jurisdiction and the necessity of adaption to the local school context. The results are interpreted using Abbott’s theory of jurisdiction and Evetts’ distinctions of professionalisation and professionalism. The study confirms results from prior research to a high degree but adds further nuance and dimensions to them with formulations from active professionals

Conceptual diversities and empirical shortcomings : a critical analysis of research on inclusive education

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse research about inclusive education. Prior reviews and the outcome of a recent search of databases are analysed with regard to (a) how inclusion is defined and (b) what empirical knowledge there is regarding factors that make schools and classrooms more inclusive. Our point of departure is that we regard inclusion as an idea about what school systems, schools and classrooms should accomplish, and as such, an expression of an educational philosophy. Four different understandings of inclusive education were found: (a) inclusion as the placement of pupils with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, (b) inclusion as meeting the social/academic needs of pupils with disabilities, (c) inclusion as meeting the social/academic needs of all pupils and (d) inclusion as creation of communities. Under a strict definition of inclusive education, hardly any research was found which reliably identified factors that give rise to inclusive processes. The outcome of our analyses are discussed from the perspective that different understandings of inclusion should be seen, to a large extent, as expressions of different views of what schools should accomplish. We also propose that some of the adherents to inclusion as creation of communities can be placed in the grand educational tradition reaching back to Dewey that tries to establish new ideals for school systems in a society in which individualism is perhaps the main ideology. The main conclusions are that the operative meaning of inclusion in reviews and empirical research should be much more clearly defined and that new types of studies are needed

'They would be bullied in ordinary schools' - exploring public discourses on inclusionary schooling

Though research on inclusive education makes up a considerable part of the special education research field, very few studies have explored how beliefs and ideas about inclusion and exclusion emerge in general media discourses of education and schooling. Using positioning theory as a theoretical framework, this paper explores public discourses on inclusionary/exclusionary schooling by analysing newspaper articles about a segregated type of school in Sweden for pupils with intellectual disability. Seventy-nine articles meeting the criteria for inclusion and published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2018 were identified in the two national daily newspapers of Sweden. Four general storylines and associated positions were identified. The four storylines, together and in different ways, construct a rationale for a segregated school system based on notions such as equality, equity, justice, and democracy. We argue that this rationale is embedded within a discourse that we propose calling a discourse of 'segrequality'. Points of interest Education plays an important role in the development of an inclusive society and inclusive education is a goal supported by many countries and their school systems. Even so, the percentage of pupils educated in segregated settings have increased in many countries in Europe. This article explores how Swedish news media portrays education for pupils with intellectual disability. The research found a dominant rationale where segregated educational settings are seen as essential. Four main narratives were identified. All of them, in different ways, argue for the importance of segregated education in order to give every child an education based on notions such as equality, equity, justice, and democracy. Researchers of inclusion are suggested to take a more active part in a public discussion of education as well as in policy-making on both national and local levels

Local school ideologies and inclusion: the case of Swedish independent schools

This paper reports on the development of a framework for the classification of local school ideologies in relation to inclusion that provides a tool for classifying the general educational direction as well as work with pupils in need of special support of individual schools. The framework defines different aspects of local school ideology in terms of values related to the societal level, school level, and individual level of the education system. The paper also reports on a study exploring variations among Swedish independent schools, concerning local school ideology using the framework as a theoretical tool. In this qualitative analysis, eight schools were selected from results of a questionnaire to all Swedish independent schools (return rate 79.5%) for further analysis based on interviews with different categories of school personnel, parents, and pupils. Five different patterns of local school ideologies were found more or less in line with values of inclusion, e.g. the holistic – inclusive and the market oriented – exclusive. Results are discussed in relation to the multiple and sometimes competing objectives that every school has to deal with and make priorities between. Implications for pupils in need of special support in a school system rapidly undergoing marketisation are finally discussed. Fristående skolors arbete med elever i behov av särskilt stö

Challenging traditions? : pupils in need of special support in Swedish independent schools

This article presents the general situation for pupils in need of special support (PNSS) in Swedish independent compulsory schools. The analysis is based on a survey of all independent schools in Sweden. The results show that the number of PNSS is lower in independent schools than in municipal schools and that a deficit perspective seems to be common regarding explanations for school problems. There is, however, great diversity among the schools. The conclusions are that school choice as a challenge to the traditional way of conceiving education seems to be more effective for some other groups of pupils than for PNSS and that there are few signs that independent schools challenge traditions in work with PNSS

Contextualizing inclusive education in educatinal policy : the case of Sweden

In this article, we regard inclusive education as a policy phenomenon that contains a range of ideas about the purpose of education, the content of education and the organization of education. As a political ideal expressed in policy, inclusive education competes with other political ideals regarding education, for instance economic discourses that prioritize effectivity and attainment as educational goals. Thus, inclusive education has to be realized in contexts where available options for action are restricted by several and often contradictory educational policies on different levels of the education system. We argue that while research and debate about inclusive education are important, both are insufficient without analyses of the context of national educational policy. Any interpretation of inclusive education is necessarily situated in a general education policy, and measures of what ‘inclusive schools’ are dependent upon for instance, political interpretation(s) of inclusive education, resource allocation and political discourse on both local and national educational level. Here, we will provide support for this argument through presentation of both research on inclusive education, an alignment of prior analyses of Swedish national education policies and our own analyses of government statements