Browsing by Subject "Koulun valmius"

The purpose of this study was to investigate the views of primary school teachers on school´s readiness to accommodate all diverse learners. The subject topic captivated my interest due to the emphasis placed by the interviewed primary school teachers in my bachelor's thesis on the readiness of the school, even though the actual research focused on children´s school readiness. Additionally, since the 2000s, discussion in Finland regarding school readiness have shifted towards the organization of education rather than solely focusing on children's readiness for school. Several research also support this shift. Readiness of the school has been extensively investigated as part of inclusive education. On the other hand, in the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (2014), the word inclusion is mentioned only once. The aim of this study was to determinate the requisite preparedness of educational institutions to accommodate the diverse needs of incoming students, and to clarify the strategies of implementation of inclusion. In my qualitative research, six primary school teachers who work in elementary education participated. Thematic interviews were used as data collection method, as they allowed clarifying questions to be asked from the participants. The interviews were recorded, videotaped and transcribed for further analysis. The chosen method for analysis in my research was theory-guided content analysis, supported by thematic categorization. The data was then categorized into seven themes, which will be referred to as "upper-level categories" in the following study. These upper-level categories consist of resources, competent teacher, leadership, collaboration with preschool teachers, inclusivity, resources, and differentiation. My research findings strongly imply that primary school teachers considered resources to be the most important factor in the readiness of the school and the implementation of inclusion. However, primary school teachers described school resources as inadequate to meet the needs of all incoming students. Primary school teachers discussion about the most important readiness factors for accommodating all incoming students were centered around resources, teachers' professional skills, leadership, and collaboration with preschool teachers. Primary school teachers instead reported focusing on the implementation of inclusion through various inclusion-related actions, available resources, and diverse differentiation. Generally, five out of six primary school teachers had a positive attitude towards inclusion and the readiness of the school to accommodate all diverse learners. This study provides valuable information especially for primary school teachers, but also for principals interested in inclusion and implementing inclusive education.