Collaboration between educators is considered to be the key issue when implementing inclusive practices within schools. An open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to extend the current understanding of collaboration between teaching staff. The questionnaire was administrated to 167 classroom teachers, subject teachers,…

Professional agency is key for teachers' professional development, for constructing their professional identity, and for promoting student learning. This longitudinal study explored the development of teachers' (N = 201) sense of professional agency in the classroom in the professional transition from early career teachers to more experienced…

Co-teaching is highlighted as an opportunity to develop inclusive practices. This study aimed to investigate how teacher candidates experienced co-teaching during supervised teacher training periods. Data were collected through pair interviews and questionnaires (N = 22). The analysis was conducted through thematic analysis. Results show that the…

In 2010, new amendments regarding special education were made to the Finnish Basic Education Act (642/2010), and they were officially adopted in 2011. The three-tiered support system that was introduced can be considered the Finnish approach to moving education toward a more inclusive system since it emphasises all teachers' responsibility to…

Children with intellectual disability and autism often receive support which is organised with interprofessional collaboration in early childhood education and care (ECEC). In Finland, a new ECEC curriculum was launched in 2022. The core curriculum and renewed legislation on ECEC emphasise collaboration between professionals and parents. In this…

Teachers' positive attitudes towards inclusive education are a prerequisite for its successful implementation. This study surveyed the attitudes of Finnish classroom, subject, resource room and special education class teachers (N = 4567) towards inclusive education. The results indicated very low support for the concept. Its acceptance was…

In many countries, including in Finland, promoting inclusive school practices supporting pupils' equal rights for learning is the focus of school development. Special education teachers play a central intermediary role in developing inclusive school and classroom practices by providing support both for pupils and peer teachers. This may increase…

The attitudes towards inclusion and the terms used related to special needs by pre-service teachers in three Finnish universities were studied. Inclusion is the main educational policy in Finland, and special solutions are avoided when possible. With a questionnaire and a brief survey, data from 488 pre-service teachers (PSTs) were collected and…

The aim of this study was to analyse and compare teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in two culturally different countries: Finland and Japan. A sample of 362 Finnish and 1518 Japanese teachers participated in this survey. The teachers' attitudes varied and were rather critical. The Finnish teachers were more worried about teachers'…

This paper investigates the relationship between the Finnish national curriculum and inclusive practices of physical education (PE) from the viewpoint of teachers from Finland. Case studies were conducted with the intention of developing understandings of the teacher's perspective on the current PE curricula at the time of transition to a new…

Positive education is the teaching of both traditional school skills and skills for enhancing well-being. This study examines teachers' (N = 72) experiences with training in positive education.Qualitative content analysis was used to provide an in-depth understanding of the experiences, and quantitative measures investigated teachers' well-being.…

Qualitative research methods were used to conduct case studies in three public schools in Finland to explore the changing role of the special education profession in Finland after the legislative reform in 2011 regarding educational support. With the implementation of the three tiered-support system, the special educator has become a profession…

Positive teacher attitudes are essential for success when children with special educational needs (SEN) are placed into mainstream classrooms. The present study surveyed teachers' attitudes towards inclusion by using a large national sample and Teachers' Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale (TAIS). A total of 1,764 Finnish basic-school teachers…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the different support systems used by teachers in compulsory education. Class and subject teachers and special educators from Finland (N = 57) and Sweden (N = 57) participated in the study, in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Participants completed an electronic questionnaire…

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 semi-structured interviews with eight teachers in Finland, and the analysis was based on a…