Browsing by Subject "inkluusio"

In the context of education, ADHD has already been studied quite a bit. However, the way that teachers understand the ADHD diagnosis and what kind of image they create in their speech about children diagnosed with ADHD has received less attention. The purpose of this thesis is to find out what kind of meanings teachers generate for the ADHD diagnosis and what kind of image teachers create about children diagnosed with ADHD. It is important to study the way teachers speak because the way they speak can have either a positive or negative impact on the well-being and learning of children diagnosed with ADHD. I have collected the material for my thesis through an e-form, which has been answered by 70 teachers working in early childhood education and basic education. Respondents to the form were found through social media. The form consisted of open-ended questions and the data was analyzed using discourse analysis methods. I identified a total of six interpretive repertoires for the diagnosis of ADHD: diagnosis as evidence of medical background, diagnosis as a provider of understanding, diagnosis as an explanation of behaviour, diagnosis as a provider of support, diagnosis as a possible label, and diagnosis as a questionable phenomenon. The diagnosis appeared to be mainly necessary and good in these interpretive repertoires, but the possible negative effects of the diagnosis were also brought up. A total of six subject positions were produced for a child diagnosed with ADHD: patient, different child, troublemaker, child in need of support, labelled child and ordinary child / misunderstood child. Teachers described children diagnosed with ADHD mainly through problems and challenges, but the writings also conveyed an empathic attitude towards the child. I hope this thesis will inspire teachers to reflect on their ways of speaking and to think about the origins and consequences of the meanings they have given to the diagnosis.

The aim of this master`s thesis was to study which kind of experiences of a sense of belonging, students with special needs have in their school. The students studies take place both within a special education classroom, as well integrated to basic education classrooms. The subject of the study is approached with the next questions: 1. How do student`s relationships to teachers and to students, create experiences of a sense of belonging, 2. Which things prevent the student from experiencing a sense of belonging, 3. How does the school climate influence the student`s satisfaction of being at school. The previous studies show that student`s relationship to their teacher, relationship to other students, and behaviour modification, create experiences which deliver a sense of belonging to students with special needs (Juvonen 2006). Studies have also found that an inclusive school climate, can affect positively to the sense of belonging of students with special needs. This is a qualitative phenomenological research. For this study, five secondary school students with special needs were interviewed on their experiences regarding a sense of belonging. The data was collected by semi-structured theme interviews. The collected data was analysed with theory-based content analysis, which was mainly based on Juvonen`s (2006) theory about a sense of belonging. The results of this study show that all the students with special needs, who participated, experienced a sense of belonging for their school. The results were similar to previous studies which show that the positive experiences of the teachers, assistants and students, created experiences of a sense of belonging to the student with special needs. The results of this study suggest that the school where these five students with special needs study, was inclusive. This is convergent with previous studies, which show that inclusive school climates can affect positively on the sense of belonging of the students with special needs.

The purpose of my previous research (minor laudatur thesis, year 2005) was to clarify how the comprehensive school and the Steiner school approach the special education pupil as well as to examine what sorts of similarities and differences there are between the Steiner education and special education. Through my thesis I also attempt to examine how the ideologies/intellectual worlds and teachings of the Steiner school and the comprehensive school could be combined and brought closer to one another as well as how the best parts of both schools could be combined in order to take advantage of them in both schools. The research was implemented as a review of literature. At the beginning of my research the ideology and development of inclusion, integration and inclusive upbringing are examined as the basis for the next chapter, in which the concept of man is examined from the viewpoint of special education. I discuss the idea of man on the basis of four central principles. These principles are human dignity, integrity, the right of self-determination and participation in life and society. The fourth chapter provides a detailed introduction to the concept of man from the viewpoint of the Steiner education. First the points of departure and bases of value of the Steiner education are discussed, and then on the basis of these the idea of man and man's different aspects of being in the Steiner education are discussed, as well as the development rhythms and the seven year stages of the child. I examine the differences between these two educations by comparing their ideas of man. The Steiner education is based on Steiner's educational views and the concept of man, upon which these views are based. The concept of man guides the raising and education of the child and is thus also strongly connected to how the special education pupil is approached in the Steiner school. I consider the fourth chapter to be of particular importance for the reader because it is there that I discuss the concept of man of Steiner education as well as the development rhythms of the child, among other things. Without becoming acquainted with the concept of man of Steiner education it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to understand methods used in approaching the special education pupil, such as temperament training and form drawing. The concept of man of special education also creates the basis for how a pupil requiring special support is approached in the comprehensive school. The fifth chapter discusses methods used in approaching a pupil requiring special support in the Steiner school. The sixth chapter discusses methods used in approaching a pupil requiring special support in the comprehensive school. At the end of this research I attempt, on the basis of the comparison between these two educations, to disclose the similarities and differences of them in approaching the special education pupil. I complemented my minor laudatur thesis by taking in account the 3-phased support model.

Aims. The number of students with special needs in mainstream classes in Finland has been steadily rising in recent years. The purpose of this study was to determine how well the class teachers, subject teachers and special education teachers feel that they succeed in their work when dealing with students with special needs and what are the things that impact their level of competence. Particular attention was paid to how the special education studies and teaching experience affect teachers' skills in relation to teaching special need students.The research was carried out as a part of a project focused on clarifying the state of teaching students with special needs in Finland today, and later to take advantage of this knowledge to arrange further training and education for teachers. Methods. The study was conducted using quantitative research methods. The data was a random sample collected with a questionnaire from schools in a Finnish city. The questionnaire was responded by class teachers and subject teachers (N= 118), responses were analyzed using SPSS-software. Statistical parameters were used in describing the teachers' level of competence in different areas of teaching students with special needs. The impact of special education studies on teachers competences were tested using one-way variance analysis. The impact of general teaching experience on teachers' competences was examined with Mann-Whitneys U-test and the impact of special teaching experience on teachers' competences was examined with independent samples t-test. Results and conclusions. The results showed that teachers who had completed basic studies in special education or extensive special education studies, rated their skills significantly stronger than the teachers who had completed only the basic course in special education or who hadn't completed any special education studies at all. The mere completion of the special education basic course didn't seem to have almost any effect on teachers' competences when compared with the teachers' who hadn't completed any special education studies at all. The amount of general teaching experience had only little effect on teachers' competences. However special teaching experience had a significant impact on teachers' competences.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to examine the development of cognitive, language and play skills of special needs children, who participate either in integrated special group or in a regular group receiving the help of early childhood education special needs teacher. The three research questions were: 1. What kind of differences appear when comparing the development of children with special needs in the integrated special day care group and children with special needs in a regular day care group with the support of early childhood education special needs teacher, with subquestions a) what were the differences between peer children, children in the integrated special day care group and regular day care group special needs children at the start of the study, b) what differences appear in the development of skills in different status groups? 2. What kind of differences appear between girls and boys? 3. How do the skills of peer children and special needs children advance? This study utilizes the Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) to discuss children’s social attachment and the effect of peer interaction. This study is a part of LASSO-project. Methods. The study was conducted by combining two sections of the LASSO-project. The data consisted of parts of the WPPSI-III and NEPSY-II intelligence and neuropsychological tests and Play School Play Behavior Scale. These tests were used to measure children’s cognitive, language and play skills. The children were between three to seven years old during the study (N = 366). The data was analysed with repeated measures two-way ANOVA, non-parametric Friedman’s, Kruskall-Wallis -, Mann Whitney U -tests and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient with SPSS 25 -tool. Results and conclusions. The study revealed that there were differences in the development of different group forms and between status groups. The peer children were ahead in skill development when comparing them with group form or status group. The children who received the support of early childhood education special needs teacher had better skills comparing to the children in integrated special day care group. The children with severe disabilities had the lowest scores among status groups. There was a positive albeit mediocre correlation between cognitive and language skills as well as positive correlation between social play variable and cognitive and language skills. Based on the results it would seem that special needs children could benefit being in a regular day care group with the support of the early childhood education special needs teacher.

This study examines and describes sense of belonging of seventeen preschoolers in groups where art education is the main support for children with special educational needs to support their learning and developing. Children were interviewed twice in autumn and in spring. Preschool groups were part of Taikava-project and in all groups art educators were working every weekday in early childhood education instead of group assistants. Art educators were working with other early childhood educators. This study examines possibilities to support children with art education and especially in sense of belonging. The theoretic part of this study is about the possibilities of art education to support children with special needs. In Vantaa there has been quite similar project before, TaikaVoima, but the art educators did not work fulltime in day care centers in that project. TaikaVoima- projects results proved to encourage children with special needs and affirm the sense of belonging in their groups. This study has both qualitative and quantitative data and results. In this study there were 17 preschoolers interviewed twice in a year. Seven of these children were having special educational needs. Additionally it was examined kindergarten teachers perceptions of children's behavior and art educators and kindergarten teachers group work about the challenges and the targets for the first year of the project. Children's experiences were scrutinized with three different material by method of triangulation. This qualitative research has phenomenological and hermeneutical features. It is researching the world in which preschoolers are living in, and their experiences in their groups and the meaning of their experiences. The awareness and knowledge of preschoolers about their own skills and abilities and challenges did deepen during the interviews. Children had learned new social skills and skills to express themselves with art educators. Children need more support from educators to understand the needs of other children and to learn to help and take others in to account. Children were positive surprised of the help that other children gave them. They were also surprised of the new friends and games that came out if educators decided playmates.

Inclusive education is based on the idea that all children have a right to attend and to be welcomed by their neighbourhood schools in regular classes. Indeed, in the dominant educational debate the appropriateness of separate systems of education has been challenged, both from a human rights perspective and from the point of view of effectiveness. In spite of that the inclusive movement has been slow in Finland and research has widely demonstrated that the attitudes of the teachers towards inclusion are quite qualified. The aim of this study was to review what are the attitudes of the students' of the Department of Teacher Education towards inclusion and how they feel their education supports the principles of inclusive education. In addition, this study investigates how familiar the students are with The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and if the knowledge of the convention correlates with the attitudes towards inclusion. The approach in this study was survey research. The sample was comprised of 119 students studying at the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire that included Prof. Timo Saloviita's Inclusion meter and statements about the Convention on the Rights of the Child, inclusion and the students' experience about their education. The material was analyzed by statistical methods. The attitudes of the student teachers to inclusion appeared to be slightly positive. The education programme or other variables did not affect the attitudes towards inclusion. The students felt their education programmes support the principles of inclusive education slightly. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was unfamiliar to the students. The knowledge of the convention did not correlate with the overall attitudes towards inclusion, but the correlation was positive when the attitudes towards inclusion were considered more precisely from the point of view of expected outcomes and inclusion as a value. The qualified attitudes on average towards inclusion demonstrates that a notable number of the students resists inclusion. From the rights of the child point of view the Department of Teacher education should draw attention to this and base the training on these facts. The department should also find ways to change students' approach to inclusion.

Aims. According to statistics it seems that the amount of special educational needs have increased despite the Finnish education system's strive for inclusion. The aim of this study is to examine what sort of phenomenon inclusion is in speech of early childhood special education teachers' and which factors in their speech produce special educational needs particularly in a context of children on the autism spectrum. Research questions are: 1) What definitions are given to inclusion in speech of early childhood special education teachers' in a context of children on the autism spectrum? 2) What are the factors in speech of early childhood special education teachers' that produce special educational needs in a context of children on the autism spectrum? The goal of this study is also to participate in discussion of how factors producing difference and preventing inclusion in early childhood education can be disposed of and how to build more inclusive early childhood educational system. Methods. This study was carried out using theme interviews with five early childhood special education teachers' from Helsinki. The study material was analysed using abductive content analysis and was reflected to earlier literature about inclusion. Results and conclusions. The definitions given to inclusion were taking individual needs into account, rebuilding educational system, fulfilling individual rights, multiprofessional cooperation, cooperation with parents, participation, being accepted, neighborhood principle, learning in normal groups, learning in integrated special groups, and being in the same space physically. Integrated special groups were found to be as a good way of carrying out inclusion but that finding leads to the need for a redefinition of the concept of inclusion itself. The factors producing special educational needs were features of the autism spectrum disorder, attitudes of educators, insufficient resources, lack of competence of people working with children and psychobabble. The early childhood educational system also does not seem to be suitable for all children and the three-dimensional model of support does not always work as intended. Autism spectrum disorder itself was found to produce only a part of special ed-ucational needs whereas environment and current early childhood educational system were found to strongly produce special educational needs. In summary educators seem to be well aware of the ideal of inclusion at least in theoretical level but in practice early childhood educational system produces special educational needs and inclusion is not always achieved to the level aimed for. Instead of only concentrating on child's features in future there should be an increasing focus on how the whole early childhood educational system could improve.

This thesis is about determine the meaning of inclusion in Finnish education system and policies. Defining inclusion is culturally challenging, because it has its own forms in every country and every country has their own educational system with their own history in education policies. Inclusion is the latest newcomer in modern educational discourse and has not yet been generally accepted by common consent. Topic is hot potato in education field and there is a lot of demand defining inclusion in educational sciences, to deeper the understand behind it. My research is founded on valued Finnish scientific publications. My data is collected from Kasvatus- lehti, from which I picked 10 articles among approximately 400 publications. My research methods rely upon content analyse, hermeneutical and phenomenological approaches. Use of my methods require proper review of my background as a researcher to make my study credible, which can be found in this thesis. This way reader can justify my results. The results of this study made even clearer the challenge of defining the word inclusion in Finland is a challenge. Results showed that it is in clear relation to word integration, almost acting as synonym. This confusion of between different ideology and concept has big impact on educational policy, wasting time and resources on developmental projects towards inclusive education in Finland. In brief, in through my comprehensive data, inclusion in Finland would constite to be democratic, accessible and social construct, that welcomes everybody to join in multiprofessional work community, no matter their qualities or disabilities. Importance of this study is to bring definition and continue the debate about inclusive education in Finland and internationally, and how inclusive education would progress in Finnish education system.

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to describe the factors that influence junior high age young people as they connect with friends and peer groups, especially from the view of a student who is somehow distinct from the group. The term somehow distinct is used to encompass the wide variety of factors that may influence an adolescent who is left to the fringes or totally outside of a peer group. As inclusion and multiculturalism increases in schools it is important to understand adolescent belief and value systems in order to create an atmosphere that is open to diversity and strengthens peer relationships at school. This study examines short essays by young people on the subject of being an outsider to their peer groups and the preconditions and terms of friendships. In addition, what circumstances support or prevent the ability to join a group and form friendships. In past years this topic has been researched from the point of view of the experiences of special needs students and of general adolescent peer relations. (Ellonen, 2008; Hoikkala & Paju 2013; Korkiamäki, 2014; Koster, Nakken , Pijl & van Houten 2009; Saarinen 2012). In this work the angle of approach is the thoughts and feelings that the somehow distinct adolescent brings out in the peers representing the majority of the group and how to support him/her in order to get to join the group and how to strengthen his/her social competence. Methods. For this study, data was collected from two secondary schools. The students were selected from one class at each school and a total of 49 students returned write-ups. Essays were prompted by four questions about what it means to be an outsider, what factors lead to being outside of the group and the conditions for the process of forming peer relations. Student essays were transcribed and sorted by theme. Themes that emerged were then interpreted by using content analysis. Results and conclusions. The research highlighted the challenges that diversity poses in adolescent groups. Young people looked for direction from adults and guidance in situations where someone was outside of the group. They also brought forth ideas how the social competence of a young person distinct from the group could be supported. Group dynamics and general social climate in the classroom seemed to influence how diversity was handled. There were subtle differences between boys and girls as far as what components supported and what prevented the forming of peer relations. Girls were especially influenced by outward appearances and favored the opinions of girls high up in the class social hierarchy as to who should be accepted in the group. Boys' ability to form peer relations were supported more by social skills and mutual conversation topics and hobbies.