How is the vocational special needs education fulfilled in the Finnish educational system?
There is a differentiation in special needs education between general support, intensified support and special support in the Finnish school system. Education is seen as a lifelong journey and special education is given to most students in the Finnishs system. “Early intervention and sustained individual support for every student are keys to educating the whole child in Finnish schools”, says Pasi Sahlberg (CIMO) in this interview produced by Edutopia.
Special support is offered to students who cannot reach their growth, development or learning objectives through other support measures. Students in need of special support may apply to ordinary vocational institutions and get integrated support or to educational institutions with special education specialization with other students with special needs. Student counsellors in basic education and vocational education and training, aim to find a suitable place for each student according to the student’s wishes.
With this range of support functions, all students can continue their studies in vocational schools. According to Statistics Finland Intensified support was received by 3.3 per cent and special support by 8.1 per cent of comprehensive school pupils in autumn 2011
How is the special needs education carried out specifically in the field of vocational education?
An individual education plan (IEP) is drawn up for each student receiving special education and training in vocational or special vocational schools. Cooperation with the previous school and previous special needs teacher/s is essential for making a workable plan. The IEP includes personal goals and requirements for reaching a competence based qualification and the needed support for the student to reach the qualification. The vocational schools are required to organize special education and training, every student has a right to education.
There are many special needs students in Finnish vocational schools since getting a job and being part of a working community is very important to all of us. According to Statistics Finland the share of special education students was 6.9% among all students and 13.8% among young students attending vocational education in year 2010.
The majority, 77% were integrated to groups in vocational schools. Thirteen per cent attended special vocational education institutions and 10 per cent studied in special groups of other institutions providing vocational education. Nearly one-half of the special vocational education students studied in the field of technology and transport.
Which Finnish legislation governs special education?
According to the Constitution of Finland, everyone is equal before the law. No one may, without a valid reason, be treated differently from other people on grounds of sex, age, origin, health, disability or any other reason that concerns her/his person. by economic hardship.
According to the Basic Education Act (628/1998), “all education must comply with national core curriculum. Instruction is to be organized to meet the age level and abilities of pupils so as to promote pupils’ healthy growth and development.” Some provisions were made to the Basic Education Act in 2011 with focus on early intervention and providing general and intensified support as first means of special education.
The Government and the Ministry of Education and Culture implement these principles at the central government level. In matters related to pre-primary, comprehensive and upper secondary schools, vocational institutions and adult education, the ministry is assisted by Finnish National Board of Education. A central development document in the educational sector is the Development Plan for Education and Research, which the Government approves every four years for the year of its approval and for the following five calendar years.
The local governments are in charge of implementing education in accordance with the applicable laws and the national core curriculum. The local governments have to make sure that there are sufficient funding and resources for fulfilling its tasks.
How are special needs students present in the present system in comparison to previous years?
The main idea is that special needs education is integrated into general education as much and often as possible. The division into general support, intensified support in addition to special support was implemented in 2011. Early intervention and possibility for any student to get general support any day at school has made special education accessible for all students without separate bureaucracy. This is a clear improvement from previous support functions.
Since the 1970s, integration of special needs students into general education has been the praxis but with insufficient resources, it often didn’t work out so well. I remember from my first years in school in the 1980s that we had two students with special needs that were moved to a special class in 3rd grade. There were not enough resources to support their needs. I remember that they were bullied during the breaks. During that time, special ed was an earmark and carried out outside normal class. However, once you were “freed” from special education, you were quickly seemed as normal again.
Nowadays, co-operation with a team of experts is continuously following up situations that occur and that might need some sort of intervention. I think this is working well in comprehensive schools. My gut feelings says though, that vocational education is a grey zone and not sufficient in vocational education. Students with learning disabilities go to vocational school since special education is not provided in high school. This means that there should be more special education teachers there than in comprehensive schools. My dear Statistics of Finland tells me that school year 2010-2011 9.1% of young people dropped out of vocational education. That is nearly one out of ten students. In my opinion, the lack of special education is one reason.
Thanks to your assignment, I found the special education plan for my local vocational school. I know from working life that they have a lot of problems with motivation, cutting classes and getting tests approved in e.g. dwelling. Since one of my professional interests lies in student counseling, understanding the big picture is essential.
I also want to thank you for making a smart concept by keeping all material in one prezi. My contribution is a mix of reflecting and digging into the theme since I only had time to do this assignment after the deadline. My apologies for that!
How is the vocational special needs education fulfilled in the Finnish educational system?
There is a differentiation in special needs education between general support, intensified support and special support in the Finnish school system. Education is seen as a lifelong journey and special education is given to most students in the Finnishs system. “Early intervention and sustained individual support for every student are keys to educating the whole child in Finnish schools”, says Pasi Sahlberg (CIMO) in this interview produced by Edutopia.
Special support is offered to students who cannot reach their growth, development or learning objectives through other support measures. Students in need of special support may apply to ordinary vocational institutions and get integrated support or to educational institutions with special education specialization with other students with special needs. Student counsellors in basic education and vocational education and training, aim to find a suitable place for each student according to the student’s wishes.
With this range of support functions, all students can continue their studies in vocational schools. According to Statistics Finland Intensified support was received by 3.3 per cent and special support by 8.1 per cent of comprehensive school pupils in autumn 2011
How is the special needs education carried out specifically in the field of vocational education?
An individual education plan (IEP) is drawn up for each student receiving special education and training in vocational or special vocational schools. Cooperation with the previous school and previous special needs teacher/s is essential for making a workable plan. The IEP includes personal goals and requirements for reaching a competence based qualification and the needed support for the student to reach the qualification. The vocational schools are required to organize special education and training, every student has a right to education.
There are many special needs students in Finnish vocational schools since getting a job and being part of a working community is very important to all of us. According to Statistics Finland the share of special education students was 6.9% among all students and 13.8% among young students attending vocational education in year 2010.
The majority, 77% were integrated to groups in vocational schools. Thirteen per cent attended special vocational education institutions and 10 per cent studied in special groups of other institutions providing vocational education. Nearly one-half of the special vocational education students studied in the field of technology and transport.
Which Finnish legislation governs special education?
According to the Constitution of Finland, everyone is equal before the law. No one may, without a valid reason, be treated differently from other people on grounds of sex, age, origin, health, disability or any other reason that concerns her/his person. by economic hardship.
According to the Basic Education Act (628/1998), “all education must comply with national core curriculum. Instruction is to be organized to meet the age level and abilities of pupils so as to promote pupils’ healthy growth and development.” Some provisions were made to the Basic Education Act in 2011 with focus on early intervention and providing general and intensified support as first means of special education.
The Government and the Ministry of Education and Culture implement these principles at the central government level. In matters related to pre-primary, comprehensive and upper secondary schools, vocational institutions and adult education, the ministry is assisted by Finnish National Board of Education. A central development document in the educational sector is the Development Plan for Education and Research, which the Government approves every four years for the year of its approval and for the following five calendar years.
The local governments are in charge of implementing education in accordance with the applicable laws and the national core curriculum. The local governments have to make sure that there are sufficient funding and resources for fulfilling its tasks.
How are special needs students present in the present system in comparison to previous years?
The main idea is that special needs education is integrated into general education as much and often as possible. The division into general support, intensified support in addition to special support was implemented in 2011. Early intervention and possibility for any student to get general support any day at school has made special education accessible for all students without separate bureaucracy. This is a clear improvement from previous support functions.
Since the 1970s, integration of special needs students into general education has been the praxis but with insufficient resources, it often didn’t work out so well. I remember from my first years in school in the 1980s that we had two students with special needs that were moved to a special class in 3rd grade. There were not enough resources to support their needs. I remember that they were bullied during the breaks. During that time, special ed was an earmark and carried out outside normal class. However, once you were “freed” from special education, you were quickly seemed as normal again.
Nowadays, co-operation with a team of experts is continuously following up situations that occur and that might need some sort of intervention. I think this is working well in comprehensive schools. My gut feelings says though, that vocational education is a grey zone and not sufficient in vocational education. Students with learning disabilities go to vocational school since special education is not provided in high school. This means that there should be more special education teachers there than in comprehensive schools. My dear Statistics of Finland tells me that school year 2010-2011 9.1% of young people dropped out of vocational education. That is nearly one out of ten students. In my opinion, the lack of special education is one reason.
Thanks to your assignment, I found the special education plan for my local vocational school. I know from working life that they have a lot of problems with motivation, cutting classes and getting tests approved in e.g. dwelling. Since one of my professional interests lies in student counseling, understanding the big picture is essential.
I also want to thank you for making a smart concept by keeping all material in one prezi. My contribution is a mix of reflecting and digging into the theme since I only had time to do this assignment after the deadline. My apologies for that!
No comments:
Post a Comment