Special Education Research in Norway: An Update

Abstract

Norwegian special education research in the 1990s, as guided by a major governmental initiative, investigated a wide variety of topics and issues from a number of perspectives. Traditional disability areas were studied across a range of school levels, although mostly at the primary and lower secondary levels, with some research also occurring in preschools and kindergartens but relatively little in upper secondary settings. The focus of most of this research was on the disabilities of the individual and ways of meeting special needs and not on schools as institutions and learning environments. Such an emphasis that neglects the interactive aspect of education not only contrasts with governmental policies and the perspectives of the community of special education practitioners, but also can only produce partial answers at best.