Inclusion, integration, or what? A comparative study of the school principals’ perceptions of inclusive and special education in Finland and in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

This study explores the perceptions of school principals in terms of organizing inclusive and special education in two well-performing, western school systems in Finland and in Alberta, Canada. The interview data reveal that, in spite of the inclusive rhetoric within education policy documents, most of the principals were still defining their current practices using the language of integration, and the educational decisions were often based on the more traditional idea of the least restrictive environment. The principals’ views were surprisingly similar in both jurisdictions despite the different contextual and historical trends.

Keywords:

• inclusion
• special education
• principals
• comparative education
• Finland
• Canada

View correction statement:

Corrigendum

Notes

1. This explains the higher than average mean rate (8.5% in 2010) of special education students in the sample (Table 1).

2. See http://www.kotus.fi.

3. ‘Full inclusion’ here refers to the thinking that no specialized services or placements should be organized (for example, Fuchs and Fuchs 1998).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) under Grant No. 410-2008-0236.