The migration of early childhood education and basic education toward inclusion

Perceptions of inclusion and its implementation held by leading municipal authorities

Authors

• Paula Laakso Turun yliopisto
• Päivi Pihlaja Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Heikki Silvennoinen Turun yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.121631

Keywords:

early childhood education and care, basic education, inclusion, diversity, attitudes

Abstract

This study focuses on the perceptions of inclusion in basic education and in early childhood education, held by heads of local education and culture departments and early childhood education leaders; we also study similarities and differences in the implementation of inclusion. Inclusion refers to the right of every child to participate in early childhood education and basic education. Not all of the objectives of inclusion have been achieved in many municipalities, and attitudes towards inclusion have been very ambivalent. The material for this article was collected throughout Finland by interviewing leading officials in early childhood education and basic education. The research method was phenomenography. Based on the interviews, the meanings associated with inclusion varied among municipalities, and in some municipalities, inclusion stayed at the level of speech. Understanding inclusion as a concept broader than special education, one that respects the equality of all children, would seem to require even more active implementation.