SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Pre-School Education
Pre-school education shall build on the basic values of society. These have been stipulated in national legislation and international declarations, recommendations or conventions, which endeavour to safeguard human rights and the viability of the globe. The role of pre-school education shall be to promote children’s growth into humane individuals and ethically responsible membership of society by guiding them towards responsible action and compliance with generally accepted rules and towards appreciation for other people. The core role of pre-school education shall be to promote children’s favourable growth, development and learning opportunities. It shall support and monitor physical, psychological, social, cognitive and emotional development and prevent any difficulties that may arise. Early childhood education and care, pre-school education and basic education form an integrated whole progressing consistently in terms of children’s development.
Special supporting pre-school education is needed by children, whose conditions for development, growth and learning have been affected by illness, disability or reduced functional ability. In addition, children in need of psychological or social support for their growth shall receive special support. Children whose development according to experts in education and pupil welfare services and parents or other guardians, involves risk factors related to learning potential, shall also be entitled to special support. In addition, special support in pre-school education shall be provided for children, who are within extended compulsory education or whose basic education has been deferred until one year later, and for children admitted or transferred to special education during pre-school education.
The physical and social learning environment and the necessary support services in children’s pre-school education shall primarily be organised so as to enable children to participate in group activities as fully as possible.
A child’s pre-school education plan shall be drawn up for each child in need of special support together with parents or other guardians and the relevant experts. The plan shall include the objectives set for the child’s growth and development and an assessment of the child’s strengths and risk factors and difficulties related to learning. The plan shall indicate any change needs related to child’s learning environment and the support and pupil welfare services required for participation in instruction, the bodies responsible for those and the monitoring and assessment of progress. The plans for those children admitted or transferred to special education shall be prepared in the form of personal plans covering the organisation of education (IEP).
Compulsory Schooling
The National Core Curriculum for Basic Education forms the basis for local, i.e. municipal and/or school-specific, curricula for special education. According to the provisions of the national core curriculum, education providers are to draw up a curriculum including two general syllabi, one divided into subjects and the other based on functional domains. The curriculum is then used to determine syllabi for each pupil’s individual plans. Pupils following the syllabus of mainstream education may be provided with a child’s pre-primary education plan and a personal study plan for basic education. Each pupil admitted or transferred to special education must be provided with an individual education plan (IEP).
Students who are lagging behind in their studies have possibility to remedial teaching. In addition, student welfare, educational guidance and cooperation with parents enable studying in mainstream instruction. (See Appendix 1.)
Pupils, who have minor learning difficulties, specific learning disorders or problems in adjusting to work, have the right to receive part-time special needs teaching. Part-time special needs education within mainstream instruction is provided to a pupil, who has slight difficulties in learning and adjustment or who needs special support to overcome learning difficulties. There are different ways to arrange part-time special needs education. It may be organised in general education (as team teaching), in small groups or individually.
Each pupil transferred or admitted to special education must be provided with an individual education plan (IEP). Provision of special education must always ensure that the interpretation and assistant services required for participation in education, as well as other teaching and pupil welfare services, rehabilitation needed in connection with special education and the development, guidance and support tasks related to instruction have been organised and that special aids have been acquired.
If 10-year compulsory education is not possible due to disability or illness or for some other similar reason, compulsory education will start one year earlier than for other pupils and it will last eleven years. Within this system of extended compulsory education, pre-primary education may take two years. If the parent or guardian so wishes, the extended compulsory education can start at the age of five on a voluntary basis.
Instead of subjects, instruction for the most severely disabled is divided into functional domains, which are motor skills, language and communication, social skills, activities of daily living and cognitive skills. The functional domains are further divided into sub-domains.
Individual education plans are drawn up so as to enable assessment and monitoring of pupils’ learning processes, rehabilitation and achievement of their individual educational objectives. Each plan must include the following information as required to individualise instruction provided for the pupil:
- a description of the pupil’s learning abilities and strengths, special needs related to learning and the needs to develop teaching and learning environments as required by these;
- long- and short-term objectives for instruction and learning;
- the numbers of weekly lessons per year included in the pupil’s study plan;
- a list of those subjects where the pupil’s studies differ from syllabi for regular instruction;
- the objectives and core contents of those subjects where the pupil follows an individual syllabus;
- principles for monitoring and assessment of the pupil’s progress;
- interpreting and assistant services, other teaching and pupil welfare services, communication methods and special aids and teaching materials required for participation in education;
- a description of the provision of instruction for the pupil in conjunction with other education and/or in a special education group;
- people participating in organisation of the pupil’s teaching and support services and their areas of responsibility;
- monitoring of the implementation of support services.
Transition Period
Additional Education
Young people who have completed the basic education syllabus may be provided with additional education lasting one extra school year in accordance with the Basic Education Act. Additional education is open to young people who have received their basic education leaving certificate in the same or previous year. No national lesson allocation or syllabus has been determined for additional education. The curriculum for additional education may include the core subjects common to all pupils as part of the basic education syllabus, elective subjects within basic education, other subjects and subject groups conforming to the role of basic education, vocational orientation studies and periods of workplace guidance.
Vocational Education
Students in need of special support may apply to ordinary vocational institutions within the national joint application system or through the related flexible application procedure. They may also apply to educational institutions with special educational tasks directly or, in some cases, through the joint application system. Pupil counsellors in basic education and student counsellors in vocational education and training aim to find a suitable place for each student according to the student’s wishes.
In vocational education and training, students in need of special educational or student welfare services are provided with instruction in the form of special education and training. An individual education plan is to be drawn up for each student receiving special education and training. This plan must set out details of the qualification to be completed, the national core curriculum or the requirements of the competence-based qualification observed in education and training, the scope of the qualification, the individual curriculum drawn up for the student, grounds for providing special education and training, special educational and student welfare services required for studying as well as other services and support measures provided for the student. Each education provider is responsible for organising special education and training and services for students in special education and training.
Upper Secondary Education
Special needs education is not mentioned in the current regulations of upper secondary education (629/1998, 810/1998). Although The Upper Secondary Schools Act (629/1998) provides that students with disabilities and those in need of special support for some other reason are entitled to assistant services, other teaching and student welfare services and special aids, as required in their studies.
In its Regulation dated 22 September 2000, the Matriculation Examination Board issued instructions for completion of the matriculation examination, including instructions for students with dyslexia or other disabilities or illnesses. Every year, about 1,200 candidates present the Board with a medical certificate, requesting relaxation of the terms of completion of the matriculation examination or exemption from completion of a specific part of the examination, such as deaf students requesting exemption from listening comprehension tests.
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