Introduction

The term terroir, a sense of place (p.7), refers to the meaning of place in relation to rural education (Howley & Howley 2014). The culture of the rural school, connected to the local community, creates a unique environment that provides pupils with an important social aspect to learning where the school personnel plays an important role (Howley & Howley 2014). However according to Anderson and Lonsdale (2014) “rurality” is not static. In fact, rural areas include both remote and very remote communities and can, like urban communities, be very diverse. Rural schools need to have the expertise and resources to meet pupils in heterogeneous groups including those with special needs. However, the area of special educational needs (SEN) in rural schools is relatively new and therefore unexplored terrain. Several researchers (see for instance Råberg 1979; Andrea Thelin 1980; Åberg-Bengtsson 2009) have stated that there is a knowledge gap of research in rural schools in Sweden.

Two main researchperspectivesare evident in special education research in a historical context. One perspective originated in medical/psychological research that focuses on the individual/child/pupil and is often referred to as a compensatory perspective. A critical perspective, which opposes the over-emphasis on diagnosis and the objectification that occurs for pupils’ in special education, is seen in the other group. These two perspectives are theoretically difficult to reconcile, and the medical/psychological perspective has, over time, proven to be superior. (Nilholm 2007). Clark et al, (1998) argued, therefore, that dichotomisation does not move the research in this area forward and that one should only think of the individual or school in isolation when focusing on special education research. The researcher has a duty to reflect the dilemmas that arise in different interactions in a school environment (Clark et al, 1998).

Special education represents different perspectives. Depending on which perspective is adopted – learning difficulties or teaching difficulties (Ström & Linnanmäki 2011, 252) – it determines what is regarded as SEN and whose challenge it is to meet them. Tangen (2012) believes that SEN include both individual and contextual circumstances and also focuses on interactional and relational conditions. Rosenqvist (2007) argues that the relational perspective is a qualitative shift in approach that not only focuses on individuals’ shortcomings but also their relation to the learning environment.

Principals in multi-grade schools with few teachers and few pupils were chosen for this study because they have a key role in regard to the conditions for meeting SEN. Skrtic (1991) argues that schools can organize how SEN are met in a bureaucratic way or in an adhocracy, which represents a more flexible, adaptable, and informal organizational structure. Drawing upon data which is part of a broader PhD, this paper seeks to describe and analyse principals’ opinions about special needs education and the mission organized to support SEN in small Swedish rural schools. Further, the result will be discussed in relation to previous research knowledge.

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