A study of Finnish primary school teachers’ experiences of their role and competences by implementing the three-tiered support

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate Finnish primary school teachers' experiences of the three-tiered support system, which was launched in 2010-2011 with the goal of promoting the inclusive approach in Finnish compulsory school. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight teachers in Finland, and the analysis was based on a thematic analytical approach. Results show that the teachers experienced having a central role in providing continuous support to pupils with different learning disabilities within the support system. Generally, they had a positive assessment of the system, which they saw as a natural part of their regular job. Nevertheless, they expressed facing challenges, such as the extended documentation and too little time for supporting all pupils in the class. The support from colleagues (i.e. special education teachers) was seen as very important, although their experience of consultation time was limited. Regarding the teachers' competences in handling the system, it was evident they had developed relevant skills by collaborating with the special education teacher and by being active themselves. Despite the challenges, the results show that Finnish primary teachers experienced the support system as a possible and practicable way of supporting pupils with learning disabilities.

The Role of Teachers in the Organization of Inclusive Education of Primary School Pupils

“…"The teachers experienced having a central role in providing continuous support to pupils with different learning disabilities within the support system" (Eklund, Sundqvist, Lindell & Toppinen, 2020). In addition to the importance of teachers in the organization of inclusive education, the significance of specialists who provide support to teachers should be emphasized.…”

“…"The support from colleagues (i.e. special education teachers) was seen as very important, although their experience of consultation time was limited" (Eklund et al, 2020). "Teachers' positive attitude to inclusion corresponds to more active implementation of inclusion curricula" (Avramidis & Kalyva, 2007).…”

The Work of Special Education Teachers in the Tiered Support System: The Finnish Case

“…The impacts of the reform on teachers' work have been increasing collaboration and increasing amounts of paperwork, since the reform introduced renewed pedagogical documents related to systematic planning of the support (Eklund et al, 2020;Ekstam et al, 2015;Pesonen et al, 2015). In this study, we describe special education teachers' (SETs') work and time allocation in Finnish primary schools in the tiered support framework, examining whether the resources of part-time special education and school size are related to the work allocation of the SETs in different tiers.…”

“…In some countries, these tasks have been allocated for specific professionals, like Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in Sweden (Göransson et al, 2015;Sandström et al, 2019) and in the UK and Ireland (Curran & Boddison, 2021;Fitzgerald & Radford, 2017). General education teachers in Finland also rely on SETs in tiered support processes (Eklund et al, 2020), but the consultative and managerial role remains undefined (Sundqvist et al, 2014). SETs in Finland struggle with "organisational and practical barriers" in consultative and managerial roles (Sundqvist et al, 2014, p. 306; see also Eklund et al, 2020;Mihajlovic, 2020), such as lack of time allocated for consultative discussions, which is a challenge for the special educators in many countries (Ní Bhroin & King, 2020;Stephenson & DeSutter, 2020;von Ahlefeld Nisser, 2017).…”

“…General education teachers in Finland also rely on SETs in tiered support processes (Eklund et al, 2020), but the consultative and managerial role remains undefined (Sundqvist et al, 2014). SETs in Finland struggle with "organisational and practical barriers" in consultative and managerial roles (Sundqvist et al, 2014, p. 306; see also Eklund et al, 2020;Mihajlovic, 2020), such as lack of time allocated for consultative discussions, which is a challenge for the special educators in many countries (Ní Bhroin & King, 2020;Stephenson & DeSutter, 2020;von Ahlefeld Nisser, 2017). Nevertheless, in Sweden, for example, the mandate for pedagogical consultation has somewhat strengthened over past years, partly due to policy documents that state the mandate (Göransson et al, 2015;Sundqvist et al, 2014).…”