Browsing by Author "Alaspää, Aino-Kerttu Maria"

Inclusion in education is a principle which means that all children, regardless of their possible impairments or disability, should have the opportunity to be a part of regular school systems and study with their peers. Inclusion is based on multiple international United Nations declarations such as the Salamanca Statement (1994) and the Convention on The Rights of Person with Disabilities. Inclusion is a part of international legislation to which Finland is also committed to. The concept of inclusion is still quite ambiguous which leads to multiple ways it has been interpreted and carried out in practice across the world. The word inclusion is absent from the Finnish basic education act. In the national curriculum it occurs once. Aim of this study is to create a more comprehensive understanding about inclusion in the Finnish context and how inclusive values and practices appear in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014. The study was carried out as a theory-driven content analysis. Analysis was executed on chapters 2, 3 and 4 of the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education document. Above-mentioned chapters include for example the values and school culture of basic education. Theoretical framework of this study was based on international research literature. Results of the analysis show that inclusion appears in the national core curriculum often and in multiple ways, it is perceived through values, obligations and participation. The lack of proper and direct guidance regarding co-teaching and the insufficient definition of inclusion were minor shortcomings in the national core curriculum regarding inclusion. For inclusion to be possible, it is highly important that society and everyone in the education sector agree on one definition of the concept of inclusion and the ways to promote it. Areas of further research should address the ways inclusion is interpreted in the local curriculums and how it is carried out in practice.