CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE SCALE MEASURING TEACHER ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION (TAIS)

All published scales constructed to measure teacher attitudes towards inclusion have been shown to contain several factors. This study explored the factor structure of the Teacher Attitudes towards Inclusive Education Scale (TAIS) in a population of Finnish basic school teachers (n = 1,764) using confirmatory factor analysis. The TAIS scale was shown to be one-dimensional in this population. However, the result does not automatically generalize to other countries where the school system differs from that of Finland.   Article visualizations

Teacher satisfaction at the educational placement of students with special educational needs

This study conducted a large-scale survey to investigate the satisfaction of Finnish primary school teachers toward the current educational placement of their students with special educational needs (SEN). Teachers were asked to recommend the most suitable educational placement for each of their SEN students from a pool of six alternatives: a mainstream classroom, part-time special education, a special classroom in the mainstream school, a special school, a state special school, or an institution. Data were obtained from 980 students representing 68 schools. The results showed that, in the majority of cases, teachers recommended a different level to the current level of placement for their SEN students. Teachers in the mainstream classrooms mostly recommended special classrooms, while teachers of the special education classrooms frequently recommended special schools, and teachers of the special schools often recommended state special schools or special education classrooms. A less restrictive environment was recommended for 20% and a more restrictive environment was recommended for 33% of the students. The results are interpreted in terms of organizational selection

The closure of Nastola care home: A longitudinal study on deinstitutionalisation

The Nastola Care Home, an institution housing 95 people with intellectual disability, was closed in 1989, with residents moving out into small community group homes of five people each. An intensive process of reorganization, including unitisation and staff training, occurred within the institution before its closure. The adaptive behaviour of 66 residents was measured a total of seven times, with the first phase beginning two and half years before the move, and the second phase extending to two years after the move. The results indicated an increase in adaptive skills of the residents in both phases. Challenging behaviour of the residents decreased before the move, but not afterwards. Community participation and family contacts with the residents increased after the move. With regard to daily care practices, there was a major change from institution-oriented practices in the institution to individual-oriented care practices in the community group homes. The results of this deinstitutionalisation effort, which is the largest thus far in Finland, are discussed in relationship to research and the policy of deinstitutionalisation

Klaaniuskonto islam

Islam sai alkunsa arabipaimentolaisten perustamassa Lähi-idän jättivaltakunnassa yli tuhat vuotta sitten. Länsimaissa islam on koettu vieraaksi ja ei-rationaaliseksi opiksi. Islamin eri puolia yhdistävä järkiperäisyys on kuitenkin löydettävissä, kun islamia tarkastelee uskontososiologisesti eli suhteessa siihen yhteiskuntaan, jonka tarpeita se syntyi palvelemaan

Improving institutions: Effects of small unit size on quality of care of people with severe intellectual disabilities

Two studies analysed the effects of small unit size of six to eight residents on the quality of care in institutions for people with intellectual disabilities. The results showed improvements in small units when compared with larger wards with 10 to 20 residents. Overall, the outcomes were small or modest, and the quality of care remained below standards typically achieved in community environments

Lines of development in social research on disability in Finland between the years 1970–2010

This article reviews the development of social research on disability conducted in Finland during the 40-year period from 1970 until 2010. The main focus is the connection of the research with the socioeconomic development of the country. The review starts from the emergence of a new disability service paradigm during the late 1960s. This new paradigm centred around the concept of rehabilitation, and had its roots in the birth of a postmodern welfare state during the same decade. The second shift began during the 1980s and was characterized by the precedence of human rights issues. Both of these changes paralleled international developments, but equally had their roots in the Finnish post-war society. Along with these changes the predominant metaphor of a disabled person shifted from a criminal to a sick person, and finally, to a citizen, manifesting three successive service paradigms. Based on extensive screening on the available databases, the article reviews typical studies from different time periods and research orientations and discusses some pertinent topics around Finnish research

Opettajankoulutuksen suunta hukassa

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Classroom Management and Loss of Time at the Lesson Start: A Preliminary Study

Lesson starts are transitional events which may cause management problems for teachers. In this study 131 lesson starts of equally many teachers were observed in primary and secondary schools in Finland. The results indicated that, in general, the problems were minimal. However, for various reasons lesson starts were delayed by an average of about six minutes. Calculated on this basis, the total loss of instructional time in the whole school year was about five weeks of schooling. No statistically significant relationships were observed between disturbances in the classroom and any background variable studied including grade level, classroom type,(special or mainstream), group size, presence of classroom assistant, sex of the teacher, weekday, time of day of the lesson, or subject of the lesson. In order to maximise instructional time more attention should be paid in future to starting lessons promptly

Measuring pre-service teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education : Psychometric properties of the TAIS scale

The Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Education (TAIS) scale was designed to measure pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion, as defined in the Salamanca Statement of UNESCO. The 10-item scale was developed using a sample of 185 final-year pre-service subject teachers. It was validated in four subsequent studies with various samples of teachers and pre-service teachers. The unidimensionality of the scale was established in all samples except the first-year students, and its validity was confirmed in psychometric analyses. The scale is suggested for use in intervention studies aiming to develop positive attitudes towards inclusion among teachers and pre-service teachers.peerReviewe