Profiling Today’s Special Educational Needs Teachers in Finnish Inclusive Vocational Schools

Author(s):

Cheng Yu Pan(submitting)Marja-Leena Stenström(presenting)Elina Lehtomäki(presenting)Raija Pirttimaa Maija Hirvonen

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

02 SES 06 B, Teachers and Teaching in VET

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-03

15:30-17:00

Room:

B027 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Marja-Leena Stenström

Contribution

In Europe there has been a noteworthy increase of enrolments in vocational education and training (VET). This paper focuses on the case of Finland, where more than 50% of young Finns choose VET as their secondary level studies (CIMO, 2010). Similarly to their peers, mostly young people with special educational needs choose vocational upper secondary schools rather than academic ones (Aaltonen et al., 2013). The trend is seen also in the growing number of studies on Finnish VET (Stenström & Lasonen, 2000; Ministry of Education and Culture, 2006; ReferNet, 2012; Aaltonen et al., 2013). There is, however, little research on inclusion and special needs education in VET and particularly on the Special Educational Needs (SEN) teachers, who critically contribute to successful inclusion in VET and employment of their students.

Students in VET and young people in general, are facing unprecedented challenges: global economic depression, high rate of unemployment, and an increasing alienation of school education from the society (UNESCO, 2012; Wang, 2012; International Labour Office, 2014). One out of ten youngsters around the world is unemployed, and millions hardly can find decent jobs. Skills acquired and competencies do not correspond to the labor market. These uneven situations have more far-reaching and profound impact on those marginalized, for example, students with special educational needs (European Agency for Special Needs Education Development, 2013; Lehtomäki, 2003). As the channel of service delivery of special needs education, SEN-teachers play pivotal roles. Good quality SEN-teachers assure students, as human capital to the labor market, are well educated and trained (Jahnukainen, 2000; Itkonen & Jahnukainen, 2007). Globally, there is a growing demand to understand the linkages between education and employment. Recent research has highlighted gaps in transitions from school to work, and between policy and practice concerning VET and teachers’ roles (e.g. Niemayer, 2007; Nilsson, 2010).

This paper aims to profile Finnish SEN-teachers working in inclusive vocational schools within the shaky and unstable context due to the global economic depression, disappearance of jobs and rising unemployment rates. The research questions focus on the teachers’ perspectives and experiences pertaining to their work in VET and perceptions of their teacher roles in enabling links between education and employment and of their students’ future.

The theoretical framework applied in this research is social inclusion, particularly the significance of education as means for social inclusion of young people (Nilsson, 2010) and the role of pedagogy and teachers in realizing and promoting inclusion (Niemayer, 2007). Social inclusion implies that all are included, equitably and equally treated without discrimination. Inclusive education, as a global commitment, aims to reduce inequalities, remove barriers to learning and enable participation of all. Transitions from school to work and in the case of this study, from VET to work, are challenging, as employment has become very competitive and support measures are limited. Consequently, it can be assumed that VET teachers’ experiences and perspectives provide valuable information about possible solution.

Method

A qualitative research approach is used to explore SEN-teachers’ experiences. In-depth semi-structured interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 2012) in English were conducted via Skype or face-to-face in 2012 and 2013 with 11 SEN-teachers working in different inclusive vocational schools across Finland (one was lecturing in the University of Applied Sciences at the moment of interview). Both a consent form and English-Finnish interview guidelines were sent to each interviewee before the interview was done. All interviews were recorded, and the verbatim transcripts were emailed to every interviewee for accuracy checking. The following themes were covered in the interviews: 1) Professional identity, 2) Job involvement, 3) Professional Ethics, 4) Continuing professional development, 5) Professional relationship, 6) Retaining tendency, and 7) Other comments on contemporary special needs education in VET. Thematic analysis (Guest, MacQueen, & Namey, 2011) is undertaken for further interpretation of the data.

Expected Outcomes

Preliminary findings show that the work of SEN-teachers in Finnish inclusive vocational schools heavily relies on intensive communication and collaboration, and it is no longer merely tackling students’ learning problems. The role of SEN-teachers in VET is gradually and fundamentally transforming in a more all-round and complicated direction. Additionally, the school leadership varies from one school to another, which results in different implementation quality of special needs education and the autonomy of SEN-teachers. Changes inside and outside school caused by the global economic depression inevitably are giving rise to teachers’ uncertainty about the future for themselves and their students. Radical reforms of teacher education and educational leadership in response to the rapidly changing context are suggested.

References

Aaltonen, K., Aarreniemi-Jokipelto, P., Heiilä, H., Heiskanen, N., Honkanen, E., Isacsson, A., … Viirola, H. (2013). Practical Skills, Education and Development: Vocational Education and Training in Finland. Helsinki, Finland: Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. Carkgren, I., & Klette, K. (2008). Reconstructions of Nordic Teachers: Reform Policies and Teachers’ Work during the 1990s. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 52(2), 117-133. CIMO. (2010). Finland in Focus: Towards 2020 in Vocational Education and Training. http://www.cimo.fi/instancedata/prime_product_julkaisu/cimo/embeds/cimowwwstructure/18941_Finland_in_Focus_web.pdf European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education. (2013). European Patterns of Successful Practice in Vocational Education and Training – Participation of Learners with SEN/Disabilities in VET. www.european-agency.org. Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2011). Applied Thematic Analysis. London, England: SAGE Publications. Hirvonen, M. (2012). Finnish Vocational Teacher Education in Special Needs: Towards an Inclusive Perspective in the Curriculum. Unpublished manuscript, Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu, Jyväskylä, Finland. International Labour Office (2014). Global Employment Trends 2014: Risk of a Jobless Recovery? http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_233953.pdf Itkonen, T., & Jahnukainen, M. (2007). An Analysis of Accountability Policies in Finland and the United States. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 54(1), 5-23. Jahnukainen, M. (2000). Consumer View: What Former Students of Emotional/Behavioral Disorder (EBD) Classes Say about School in Finland. (ERIC ED 448567) Lehtomäki, E. (2003). Education and employment – Gender differences among people deaf or hard-of-hearing from childhood. In K. Kristiansen & R. Traustadóttir (Eds.) Gender and Disability Research in the Nordic Countries. Lund: Studentlitteratur, pp. 115–133. Ministry of Education and Culture(2006). VET Teachers and Trainers in Finland. http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2006/liitteet/opm41.pdf?lang=en Niemayer, B. (2007). Is there a pedagogy of social inclusion? Critical reflections on European policy and practice in school-to-work transitions. In Colley, H. (ed.) Social Inclusion for Young People: Braking down the barriers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, pp. 85–100. Nilsson, A. (2010). Vocational education and training – an engine for economic growth and a vehicle for social inclusion? International Journal of Training and Development 14 (4), 251–272. ReferNet (2012). Finland VET in Europe – Country Report 2012. http://libserver.cedefop.europa.eu/vetelib/2012/2012_CR_FI.pdf Rubin, H. J. & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. London, England: SAGE Publications. Stenström, M.-L.& Lasonen, J. (Eds.). 2000. Strategies for reforming initial vocational education and training in Europe. University of Jyväskylä. Institute for Educational Research. UNESCO. (2012). EFA Global Monitoring Report. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2012-skills/ Wang, Y. (2012). Education in a Changing World: Flexibility, Skills, and Employability. The World Bank. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2012/05/23/000356161_20120523022400/Rendered/PDF/691040WP00PUBL0ability0WEB050110120.pdf

Author Information

Cheng Yu Pan (submitting)

University of Jyväskylä

Department of Education

Jyväskylä

Marja-Leena Stenström (presenting)

Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Elina Lehtomäki (presenting)

Faculty of Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Raija Pirttimaa

Faculty of Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Maija Hirvonen

Teacher Education College, JAMK Unversity of Applied Sciences, Finland

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