Browsing by Author "Vuorela, Kaisa"

Integration and inclusion have been key topics in the discussion of special education for a long time. In Finland the integration, i.e. the aim of merging special education into general education, began in the 1970s. Inclusion became strongly involved in the discussions in the 1990s from an initiative of the UN. The purpose of this literature review is to determine the theoretical background of inclusion and integration and the way they should be seen and implemented in the selection of school, and schooling overall, for pupils receiving special support. In addition, the purpose is to look at the laws, regulations and guidelines, which are currently valid at Finnish comprehensive school, guiding the arrangement of special education. The aim is to obtain a better understanding of the subject and to understand which things in Finland determine the selection of school and schooling overall for special needs´ pupils. This thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part the theoretical background of segregation, integration and inclusion are clarified, and the concepts of special needs´ pupil and special education are described. In the second part, the key documents, as well as laws and regulations of how and where the special needs´ pupils can complete their basic education in Finland are collected. The thesis discusses additionally the National Core Curriculum coming into force next autumn, as well as the concepts of three-tier support and the local school principle. The Basic Education Act (628/1998), the modifications for it (642/2010), the Basic Education Regulation (852/1998), Special Needs Education Strategy (2007) and the National Core Curriculum (2014), all support execution of the local school principle. On the other hand, all of the above documents state that teaching can also be arranged in any other appropriate place. Municipalities are given a full responsibility for the allocation of a school place, as long as the choice is justified. On my future master's thesis, I will examine how the inclusion appears in schools´ and teachers´ everyday life, and whether support is adequate from teachers’ point of view.