Historical Stages of Inclusive Education Development in the Scandinavian Countries

Abstract

The article provides a periodization of the formation and development of inclusive education in the Scandinavian countries. Based on the theoretical analysis of the problem, the main problems in periodizing complex nonlinear pedagogical processes and phenomena, in particular, inclusion in the education system abroad, are identified. It is noted that despite the similarity of the main historical trends in the social development of the Scandinavian countries, each of them has gone its own way to create a system of inclusive education for children with special educational needs. Based on the analysis of domestic and foreign scientific publications, the author substantiates the opinion that the criterion for periodizing the development of inclusive education in the Scandinavian countries can be social and institutional. Based on the analysis, three main stages of development of the inclusive education system in the Scandinavian countries are identified: Stage 1 – the stage of charity in favor of special education (the second half of the nineteenth century – the first half of the twentieth century). Within this stage, the future inclusive system in the Scandinavian countries was developing in the area of special education. Charitable support became the main tool for the development of educational institutions for children with special educational needs and certain functional limitations. Stage 2 – the stage of regulatory and organizational formalization of inclusion as a social institution (second half – end of the twentieth century). During this period, inclusive education in the Scandinavian countries was legally formalized. It is noted that each of these countries established the legal framework for the organization of inclusive education in its own way; however, the general trend was to comply with international documents that defined the rights of a child to receive quality education regardless of their physical condition. Stage 3 – systemic, representing the stage of introduction of institutional innovations in the educational sphere (late twentieth century – to date). During this stage, the system of special education in the Scandinavian countries actually ceased to exist and was replaced by the system of inclusion with a corresponding model and theoretical concept of its implementation in each of the Scandinavian countries.