School district administrators’ perspectives on the professional activities and influence of special educators in Norway and Sweden

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate school district administrators' perspectives concerning the professional activities and influence of special educators in Norway (n = 266) and Sweden (n = 290). We examine three themes drawn from a survey of practices and policies in each country: (a) the organisational arrangements in which special educators work, (b) perceived changes in special educators' activities, and (c) ratings of special educators' influence on the content of instruction and the availability of resources for children with special needs. Findings suggest that special educators frequently work in teams, function largely as advisors, and spend less time working with individual students than in previous years. There appears to be a more pronounced increase in special educators’ time devoted to advising and documentation in Sweden than in Norway. Swedish special educators were also more frequently described as working in multidisciplinary teams. Participants in both countries rated the influence of special educators significantly higher than that of parents and teachers on the availability and distribution of resources; and significantly higher than politicians, public officials, teachers, and parents with regard to influence over the content of instruction. We discuss these findings in relation to the goals and development of inclusive education in Scandinavia.

Keywords:

• special educational needs
• special educator
• profession
• inclusion
• Scandinavia

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Swedish Research Council, Educational Sciences, for financial support of this investigation. We also thank Bengt Persson and Claes Nilholm for their contributions to this study.

Notes on contributors

David Lansing Cameron, PhD, is associate professor of Special Education at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. His research is in the areas of inclusion of children with disabilities in school and preschool, multidisciplinary collaboration and early intervention, and international perspectives in special education policy and practice.

Gunilla Lindqvist is a PhD student in education at Jönköping University and an educator in special needs education at Dalarna University. Her research is focused on inclusive education and different occupational groups' views concerning special needs education.