This study investigates how the proportion of SEN students in regular classes is related to the class-level cross-curricular competences and to the cross-curricular competences of students with and without SEN. The data (N = 5368) come from a large-scale, longitudinal assessment study conducted on students at the beginning and end of lower secondary education in 14 municipalities in a Finnish metropolitan area. The results of the multilevel regression models showed that students in regular classes with SEN students performed on average lower than students in classes without SEN students, and that the proportion of students with SEN in class weakly predicted negatively the ninth-grade test scores. Furthermore, students with SEN seemed to perform at the same level regardless of the proportion of other SEN students in class.However, students without SEN in classes with SEN students performed slightly lower than their peers in classes without SEN students.
Although inclusive education is a strong trend in education policy around the globe, there are different definitions and variations used in different nations. The case of Finland is interesting, because the long-term direction of the Finnish school system has supported every child’s right to participate in education, but inclusive education is not mentioned or defined anywhere in education legislation. This absence of definition not only leaves the defining to the parties concerned, but also adds to creating inclusive myths and varying realities in everyday life. Meanwhile, in public discussion, there has been a constant and quite polarised debate about putting students with support needs in regular classrooms. The recent Government Program (2019) in Finland states that special education legislation should be investigated from the point of view of students as well as teachers’ wellbeing. In order to define the current state and equality of the Finnish support system, the Ministry of Education and Culture has established a working group as part of the “Right to Learn” initiative 2020–2022. In this chapter, we discuss the historical development of Finnish inclusion and contrast myths and realities of the Finnish model in supporting students with support needs in the light of international trends in inclusive and special education. We also discuss possible future trends of inclusive education in the Finnish context.
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