Changes in support system in Finnish basic education 1970–2016 – From special education to the support for learning and school attendance
Abstract
The present study describes the change from special education to support for learning and school attendance in basic education using available statistics and policy papers. Due to the legislative changes (e.g. L476/1983, 628/1998 and 642/2010), the provision of support has been extended to new groups of pupils. Legislative changes and reforms in administrative policies have affected the expansion of special education. The changes in legislation, resources and education policy have affected the changes in statistics. Furthermore, international education policy and transnational organizations, such as the OECD, EU and UNESCO, have influenced the definitions in Finnish special-education statistics. The present study analyses the changes in statistics using the statistics and documents related to the compilation of statistics (1979–2016), as well as material from the UOE data collection on formal education in the European Commission’s CIRCABC database.
