The overall aim of the research presented here is to examine challenges in the special needs support tradition and the consequences of these challenges with the aim of increasing knowledge regarding the opportunities and constraints that are created as partof the support. In addition, the overarching study aims to highlight issues of democracyand inclusion in the social practices that are focused here and in what manner theseemerge and are framed. These aims are examined through three separate studies. The first study theoretically examines the central concepts of democracy and inclusionin school policy. The central query here relates to what possible consequences differentmodels of democracy imply vis-à-vis inclusive processes and what possibilities exist forchallenging traditions in special need education? Tradition has often been recognized asan important factor for compensating individuals in a reactive and segregating way. The second study takes an ethnographic point of departure and focuses five languagepre-schools that are instituted with the primary aim of teaching Swedish to children fromhomes where Swedish is not spoken. The institutional intention is to prepare these pupilsfor inclusion in future school arenas. One query here relates to what types ofconsequences such a proactively conceptualized activity gives rise to? A case-study that focuses the analysis of a course to prepare teachers for writingremedial plans constitutes the third research foci. The course is offered by a national stateauthority, the older Institute of Special Education (Specialpedagogiska institutet). Theactivity of working on remedial plans is a challenge for the special educational traditionand its individualization of school related problems. A central issue here relates to whatconsequence such a challenge gives rise to when it is formulated by a school-authority? The results of the studies presented in this thesis indicate that traditions resist changeeven though there is an ambition to challenge these. Old patterns of providing support ininstitutional arenas are difficult to reshape. In both empirical studies individual deficits isa common understanding of school-problems. The results of the empirical studies are alsodiscussed in relation to the conceptual analysis presented in the first article.

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Title: Locally Integrated Groups – A special education alternativeAuthor: Jennie ArvidssonType of essay: Exam essay, second level (15 credits)Supervisor: Barbro Bruce, Examiner: Lisbeth OhlssonProgram: Special Education Program at Malmö Högskola, SwedenDate: 2012-01-12Present study is an attempt to describe how staff perceive their working operations in seven locally integrated groups, for pupils in special educational needs. By submitting a questionnaire to all professions within the groups I have tried to find similarities and differences in their statements from both structured and unstructured questions. The study is an attempt to contribute knowledge about how these groups can be understood and developed, based on a special education perspective, systems theory and sense of coherence (KASAM). The results shows that there is a consensus among the majority of staff opinions of the systems’ opportunities as well as dilemmas. On the other hand, it is possible to discern some differences in how the different professions describe their working operations according to how satisfied they are with didactic activities, interaction with others and the resources the groups has at its disposal. The basis for these differences lies in a variety of factors that have an effect on the staff opinions.Retrospectively, the study shows that the staff of the local integrated groups are looking for a central control of operations, and a clearer formulation of goals and visions. The staff also expressed a desire to establish a network between the groups, which may contribute to an exchange of experiences and increase the feeling of togetherness. More time for planning, developing further skills and continuous supervision are other resources that are sought after.

Schools closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with the expectation that learning continue from home. This presented a unique challenge for parents of children with special educational needs as during this time levels of stress were high and access to supports were low. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore and describe parents of children with SEN's experiences with at-home learning as it relates to their learning-specific parental self-efficacy, perceived stress and perceived support from their child’s school. Quantitative analysis revealed that learning-specific PSE was significantly and negatively related to perceived stress. Parents did not differ in their perception of school supports. While qualitative analysis revealed many similarities between groups, it also revealed nuanced differences that show that parents of high and low PSE experienced the school closures differently. Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence that parents with high and low parental self-efficacy differ in their experiences of supporting the learning of their children with SEN. This study serves to add to the limited body of literature on learning-specific PSE, as well as inform the efforts of schools and other professionals in supporting the parents of children with SEN and their families.

For refugee children with disabilities, international agencies largely provide humanitarian assistance, including education. However, the obstacles associated with refugee existence can impede progress in the movement towards educating children with disabilities in inclusive settings. Perceptions of inclusive education in schools operated by the Jordan field of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East were explored through multiple embedded case studies. Each of the three schools examined included a student with a special educational need. The researcher also investigated strategies and supports provided by education stakeholders to students with special educational needs in inclusive classrooms. The study was framed by four research questions aligned to a theoretical model of inclusive education and guided by propositions. Findings from interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews, suggest that all stakeholders believe education for students with special educational needs is a human right. However, perceptions of inclusion differed based on several factors including the student’s level of need and the disability, the teacher’s self-efficacy and feeling of preparedness towards meeting the needs of students, and the impact of overcrowded classrooms and limited instructional time. In comparing results between stakeholders, differences existed in perceptions of benefits and challenges associated with inclusive education.

Varje skola får utforma sitt specialpedagogiska stöd och det får konsekvenserna att det organiseras på olika sätt, att insatserna varierar och att tillfället när stödet sätts in varierar. Det innebär att speciallärare ofta är ensamma i sitt uppdrag. Specialpedagogisk personal och matematiklärare har ofta olika uppfattning av hur kompetensen ska utnyttjas i verksamheten. Ännu ett problem är att skollagens skrivelse om att elever har rätt till den ledning och stimulans de behöver för att utvecklas så långt som möjligt kan tolkas på olika sätt. Studiens syfte var att bidra med kunskap om speciallärares uppfattningar om arbetet med särskilt undervisningsbehov i matematik (SUM) och vilka specialpedagogiska perspektiv speciallärares uppfattningar kan ses som. Studiens frågeställningar var: Vad lyfter speciallärare fram som stödjande/hindrande faktorer i arbetet med SUM? Hur skulle arbetet med SUM skulle kunna förändras i framtiden, för att fler elever ska nå minst de kunskaper som krävs, enligt speciallärare? En kvalitativ studie genomfördes i form av en fallstudie. Fyra speciallärare i matematik från en mindre kommun i Sverige intervjuades. Lärarnas uppfattningar tematiserades och analyserades genom Nilholms specialpedagogiska perspektiv. Resultaten visade att speciallärarna ansåg att relationer, extra anpassning, målorienterat lärande, elevstärkande arbete, samarbete, förutsättningar för specialpedagogiskt arbete och enskild undervisning/liten undervisningsgrupp var stödjande faktorer för arbetet med SUM. Uppfattningarna samstämde med Nilholms kritiska perspektiv utom enskild undervisning/liten undervisningsgrupp som tillhör det kompensatoriska perspektivet. Speciallärarna ansåg att brist på lärares kunskaper, brist på elevstärkande arbete, brist på elevers uthållighet, brist på elevers ansvarstagande och brist på prioritering av arbetet med SUM är hindrande faktorer. Det samstämde med Nilholms kompensatoriska perspektiv när det gäller brist i lärares kunskaper och brist på elevstärkande arbete. Speciallärarna antog ett dilemmaperspektiv när det gällde brist på uthållighet, brist på elevers ansvarstagande och brist på prioritering av arbetet med SUM. Speciallärarna ville se en förändring på arbetet med SUM när det gällde organisation, undervisning och det specialpedagogiska uppdraget. Uppfattningarna överensstämde med Nilholms kritiska perspektiv, med ett undantag: speciallärarna angav att enskild undervisning/liten undervisningsgrupp var en stödjande faktor. Det visade på en ett kompensatoriskt perspektiv. / In Sweden, each school can design its own special education support, which leads to several different consequences, such as variation in how and when the support is used. This means that special education teachers often are alone in their work. Special education staff and mathematics teachers often have different views on how the skill of special education teachers should be used in school activities. Another problem is the wording in the Education Act, which states that students have the right to guidance and stimulation to develop their abilities and their knowledge as far as possible, can be interpreted in different ways. The purpose of this study was to contribute knowledge about the understandings of special education teachers’ work with special education needs in mathematics (SUM) and which special education perspectives special education teachers' perceptions can be seen as. The questions of the study were: What do special education teachers emphasize as supporting/obstructing factors in the work with special education needs in mathematics? In the opinions of special education teachers, how could the work with special education needs in mathematics change in the future, to make more students reach a minimum of the required knowledge? A qualitative study was conducted in the form of a case study. Four special education teachers in a small municipality in Sweden were interviewed. The results were thematized and was analysed through the special education perspective of Nilholm. The results showed that the special education teachers considered relationships, extra adaptation, goal-oriented learning, student strengthening work, collaboration, prerequisites for special educational work and individual teaching/small teaching groups were supporting factors for the work with SUM. The perceptions of the special education teachers agreed with the critical perspective of Nilholm except for individual teaching/small teaching groups, which belongs to the categorial perspective. The special education teachers considered teachers’ lack of knowledge, lack of student strengthening work, lack of students’ diligence, lack of students’ ability to take responsibility, and lack of prioritizing the work with SUM are obstructing factors. The opinions agreed with the compensatory perspective of Nilholm regarding teachers’ lack of knowledge and lack of student strengthening work. The special education teachers adopted a dilemma perspective regarding lack of students’ diligence, lack of students’ ability to take responsibility and lack of prioritizing the work with SUM. The special education teachers wanted to see a change in the work with SUM when it came to organisation, teaching, and the assignment of special education. The perceptions agreed with the critical perspective of Nilholm, with one exception, the special education teachers acknowledged that individual/small teaching groups were supporting factors, which indicated a categorical perspective.

Syftet med denna studie var att bidra med kunskapsutvecklingen gällande diskursen om dels begreppet ADHD, dels specialpedagogiskt stöd på fritidshemmet till elever med ADHD utifrån fritidspedagogernas berättelser. Resultaten analyserades genom diskursanalys, en kvalitativ metod där halvstrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med anställd personal i fritidshem. I resultaten framstår det att fritidspedagogerna beskriver begreppet ADHD i fritidshemmet med medicinska och normativa uttryck. Specialpedagogiskt stöd som ges till elever med ADHD på fritidshemmet beskrivs utifrån både det relationella och det kategoriska perspektivet. I vidare forskning skulle det vara intressant att genomföra en studie för att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan användningen av medicinska och normativa uttryck och det perspektiv på specialpedagogiskt stöd som ges i fritidshemmet.

This diploma thesis deals with a view to the special pedagogical diagnostic issue accordance to the children with multiple disabilities. By these children whose disability is mostly the hardest character is making special pedagogical diagnostic as much as correct and accurate very difficult. This diagnostic is very important for developing an individual plan of a special pedagogical intervention. The work is focused on both the individual areas of special pedagogical diagnostic and the complex diagnostic tools. In these areas are mentioned the methods and the materials of a foreign literature which is possible to use with a group of children with multiple disabilities. In the second part of the thesis are developed the results of a survey which brings a practical look to this issue. All these collected knowledge and experience should have become the benefit which should have been a starting point for searching other partial methods. These methods are dealing, for now, with still newly making issue of special pedagogical diagnostics of children with multiple disabilities.

The diploma work deals with the school integration of handicapped children into basic schools and with the grades of this integration. It provides the legislative backround, defines special pedagogy and outlines the theoretical essentials of the educational needs of pupils with visual and hearing impairments, pupils with communication disorder, with physical handicap and combined impairments. The diploma work also defines its objectives, characterizes the studied sample of respondents and describes the research methods and methodology. The research results are shown in tables and diagrams. The work is concluded with an analysis of the stated hypotheses.

Färväntat kunskapsbidrag Studien syftar att bidra med kunskap om hur rektorer och specialpedagoger uppfattar fenomenen specialpedagogiska frågor, specialpedagogens roll och processkompetens samt med kunskap om hur tidigare forskning, litteratur och skolans styrdokument beskriver fenomenen. Frågeställningar 1. Vilka uppfattningar har skolors rektorer och specialpedagoger kring specialpedagogiska frågor?  2. Vilka uppfattningar har skolors rektorer och specialpedagoger kring specialpedagogens uppdrag?  3. Hur ser den specialpedagogiska rollen ut och hur används den specialpedagogiska processkomeptensen på olika skolor? Teori Studiens teoretiska ramverkt utgörs av det systemteoretiska perspektivet och syftar till att analysera hur rektorers och specialpedagogers uppfattningar av begreppen och fenomenen kan tänkas påverka andra delar i systemet eller systemets helhet samt hur helheten ömsesidigt påverkas av de olika delarna i systemet (Gjems, 1997). Metod Studien har en fenomenografisk inspirerad forskningsansats med kvalitativt prioriterad inriktning vilken ligger till grund för studiens datainsamlings- och analysmetod. Två rektorer och fyra specialpedagoger har deltagit i studiens webbsurvey och den insamlade empirin har bearbetats med hjälp av en fenomenografisk analys.