Paradigmatically, the research is based on situational epistemology (Dewey, 1992), which is also related to the interpretive framework used - situational analysis, SA (Clarke, 2005). The research stems from the principles of ethnographic research, with the researchers’ repeated and intensive stay in the school betwenn 12/2018-12/2020, where they collected a large amount of data using different methods - mainly 170 hours of participant observation, 10 individual and group interviews and many documents (school website, curriculum, inspection reports, pupils' written assignments, etc.). The selected case here was a large residential school with 900 pupils in 32 classes, 80 teachers and 25 teaching assistants. The school largely meets all the Fair School Certification standards (culture, conditions, practices, sessions). Analysing the data by SA revealed a number of elements and relationships affecting the situation in the school. The central element in this school was a frequent and self-evident differentiation and parallelisation of teaching. Teachers routinely assigned parallel and diverse work both at the level of subject matter and difficulty, divided classes operationally into different groups, and used classroom and non-classroom space creatively. Students were receptive to these modes of organization and showed a high degree of independence and responsibility for the learning process and the classroom atmosphere. We will also present other important elements related to differentiation and quality of teaching - social direction of the school, general didactic ideas, teaching assistant, communication and management. Social orientation of the school: the teachers are convinced that the school should educate all the children in the catchment area whenever it is possible. They see limitations and constraints on the part of the children as a challenge to the school staff, not as an opportunity to exclude a child from mainstream education. Increased number of children with SEN has led to the need to create conditions where educational process is beneficial for every child with any diagnosis. This openness to all children then leads to a deepening of different aspects of differentiated learning. All data point at emphasis on functioning and meaningful communication. Functional communication also emerged as key to the effective involvement of a large number of non-teaching professions in the day-to-day running of the school. The emphasis on cooperation instead of competition leads to an appreciation of diversity and contributes to the mutual growth of all actors. These results are in line with the main principles of the Finnish education system (Lakkala, 2019).

Clarke, A. E. (2005). Situational analysis: Grounded theory after the postmodern turn. Sage. DEWEY, J. (1992). The Collected Works of John Dewey. HICKMAN, L. A. (ed.). Charlottesville VA (USA): InteLex Corporation. Lakkala, S. (2019). Tracing Inclusive Education and its Prerequisites in the Finnish Education System. In Introduction to the Finnish Educational System. Boston: Brill.