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Critique Paper on Finland ‘s Special Education Model

Impressed , this is what I felt as I learned more about the special education

program model of Finland. The special education program seems to be more inclusive

for a wider range of students with regards to its conceptualization. Based on my

research , the most important goal of education in Finland is to support growth and

development of unique personality in all possible ways.

In terms of contextualization, The country‘s practice is commendable and proves

how they attuned their educational pursuits in context. Finland whatever the season and

despite the weather and schools stay open all year long. The warm summer months are a

time when Finns enjoy getting out into the countryside and pursuing outdoor activities

such as hiking and camping. In winter they don their skis, skates and warm clothes and

daily life continues (Finland: Regional Preparatory Workshop on Inclusive Education,

2007). Schooling is provided first and foremost in context with mainstream education.

Also the main goal of education is to guarantee the best possible learning to everyone.

Every child is important and all the decisions are made from the children point of view.

In terms of categorization, its practice is commendable as it upholds the inclusive

principle . Special education has still a role in comprehensive education. In Finnish

legislation, the education is divided to mainstream education and to special needs

education (Murtagh, 2010). To be a pupil in special needs education, one has to have an

administrative final act. This act means that the status of a pupil will change and the

education provider will get an extra financial resource to cover all the expenses of the

support needed. Special schools and classes as an educational choice require a careful

evaluation and solid justification. Only less than 2% of children are studying in special
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schools for disabled children. Primarily, according to the current legislation, it is first and

always clarified whether it is possible to organise the teaching and support in mainstream

education. However, one shouldn’t forget that in some cases organising the schooling in a

separate group might still be the best support to child’s development. The realization of

the inclusion is more up to the guidelines and school culture than external resources.

With regards to connections, Finland has its focus on early identification and

support. It is again worthy of admiration due to the fact that they see to it that teamwork

among allied professionals and parents is active charatcterized by common vision and

shared responsibility. All school staffs include a full range of student welfare

professionals such as a school nurse, a doctor, a social worker and an educational

psychologist (Finland - Special Needs Education within the Education System.,n.d).

In terms of collaboration,the county ‘s colaborative efforts with other

professionals and community linkages are topnotched . Pupils in need of regular support

for their learning or school attendance or in need of several forms of support at the same

time must be provided with intensified support that is based on a pedagogical assessment

in accordance with a learning plan prepared for them. Intensified support is provided

when general support is not sufficient (Sahlberg,2012).

In terms of core contents, the country’s practices is again commendable .It shows

tremendous trust on teachers’ skills and capabilities (Sahlberg,2012). The national core

curriculum emphasises the active role of the pupil as the organiser of his/her own

structure of knowledge. Teachers are free to tailor the curriculum to the needs of their

pupils. Municipalities are responsible for implementation of the curriculum but schools

and teachers enjoy substantial autonomy and trust.

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Lastly, in terms of charting new directions , Finland look into intensifying it’s

support more. For this country , it is vital to ensure that children who are challenging

because of their emotional life or social conduct are referred to child and youth

psychiatric examination and care and can be flexibly returned to school (Finland:

Regional Preparatory Workshop on Inclusive Education, 2007). In addition , In teachers

and other education professionals are trusted and rightly regarded as professionals. They

have high status in society. The culture of trust is built on their professionalism – teachers

are highly educated and well trained and thus are seen as the expert voice on education;

their views are taken seriously and politicians feel no need to interfere. From this trust

flows a system which has no need for school inspections, national tests or league tables.

Teachers are freed to teach and children are liberated to learn.

In summary , the the special and inclusive education model of Finland has been

living up to the inclusive philosophy. As seen on its status and its practices with respect

to several domains namely ; conceptualization,contextualization, categorization,

connection collaboration,core contents and charting new directions. Such almost perfect

and realistic state could be strongly attributed to its high value on education which is

founded on human rights, equality, democracy, natural diversity,preservation of

environmental viability and multiculturalism. It plays more importance on values

formation above all. Another reason on Finland’s excellent manifestation /embodiment

of inclusion is because the people and community cooperate and share a common vision

for all.
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Is Finland’s Model Applicable in the Philippine Setting ?

The answer to this question is no. It is rightly said that an education system

cannot simply be lifted from one country and imposed upon another. A county’s history,

culture, geography, population, economy and social system will all play a part in shaping

its education system and its citizen’s view of it.

There are many issues regarding inclusion in the Philippines. First, in line is in

terms of attitudinal issue. The perspective of professionals and the community toward

persons with disabilities affects successful inclusion practice. Despite the clamor for

positive change, still there are some people unwilling embrace it. This is the worst barrier

and can consider very critical especially in the implementation of successful inclusive

programs. Second issue is in terms of economic matters. And that is making existing

resources and other support systems adaptable and suitable to the needs of inclusive

education like appropriate assessment procedures and related services .This may be

attributed to budgetary constraints. Third and last is in terms of social issues. With the

country’s present educational situation, inclusion of students with special needs tensions

the teaching resources and limited facilities. Therefore, negotiating teacher - student

ratio, student – book / resource ratio in a way that quality education will not suffer is a

continuing challenge for the system.

So, however much I may admire Finland’s education system, we cannot simply

reproduce it in the Philippines. However, we can seek to understand the path the country

followed to arrive at the situation it finds itself in today and seek to learn the lessons of

these.
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Saudi Arabia‘s Special Education Model

Frustrated yet still hopeful , these emotions dominated me as I learned more

about the special education program model of Saudi Arabia . The Saudi Arabian

government did not provide special education services for children and individuals with

disabilities before 1958 (Al-Ajmi,2006). Children c with special needs depended

entirely upon their parents for any educational support.

In terms of contextualization, The country‘s practice is is frustrating charcaterized

by marginalization and social exclusion. There is limited teacher and governemt iniatives

to localize assessment and instructioanl tools that would benefit students with special

needs as well as localizing SPED provisions to facilitate access to programs and services

In terms of infrastructure priorities to most esablishment fail to abide by the accessibilty

law.

With regards to connections, Saudi Arabia ‘s efforts makes me disappointed yet,

I am still hopeful because the country trods a progressive path . Intervention and

assessment are usually done late and there is inadequate support services provisons by

allied professionals . The need to provide high-quality special education services to

individuals with disabilities in Saudi Arabia necessitates the establishment of laws to

ensure the hiring of education experts, improve the value of services for special

education, and guarantee the privileges of individuals with disabilities in the countryare

yett to take strong implemetation and effect (Alquraini,2011) .

In terms of collaboration,the county ‘s colaborative efforts with other

professionals and community linkages is frustrating . With the afforementioned

connection status , the collaboration surface could be reflected . Furthermore , laws and
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policies of early identification and intervention services are not mandated in Saudi Arabia

resulted poor collaboration with important allied processionals .

In terms of core contents, the country’s practices is again frustarating .. The core

contents mostly are very academically oriented and rigid which results into poor

differentiation of instructions . One thing common among students with disabilities is that

their conditions make it quite daunting to acquire and develop learning competencies,

thus the need for special support which is inadequately provided. In fact, it is difficult to

place students with disabilities in general classrooms without making required

modifications in classrooms, textbooks and instructions.

Lastly, in terms of charting new directions , Saudia Arabia trods to coming up

with contextualized assistive technology as stated in some literatures (Alquraini, 2010).

Unfortunately , ICT developers and research get limited support resulting to slow progess

and direct utilization of technogies available and accessible. Furthermore , the Saudi

Arabian special education system aims to support students with disabilities living as

independently as possible. By its developing efforts and initiates to provide transition

services for the students. Thus, the development of transition programs for students

address the essential goals of special education services, which include independent

living.

In summary , the special and inclusive education model of Saudia Arabia has

come a long way in assisting students with disabilities to obtain free, valued and

appropriate education . Saudia Arabian governement has worked with other

organizations to ensure that appropriate education is provided and that professionally

competent teachers are prepared to handle and educate students with special needs
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through its policies yet, focus should be devoted more on its implementation . Students

with disabilities should be educated in least restrictive environments according to their

needs and should be considered when making individual educational plans for the

students. Therefore, laws for improvement in providing special education services in the

Saudi Arabian nation need to be adopted.

Is Saudi Arabia ‘s Model Applicable in the Philippine Setting ?

The answer to this question is no. If we apply the prevailing SPED Model of

Saudi Arabia, it would mean going back to our traditional practice of marginalization,

social exculpation and segregation. Learning about its practices, made me proud of the

our own country‘s practice because the Philippines adheres to the inclusive philosophy

more in terms of provision and implementation .

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References

Al-Ajmi, N. (2006). The kingdom of saudi arabia: administrators’ and special

Education teachers’ perceptions regarding the use of functional behavior
assessments for students with intellectual disabilities. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, madison: university of wisconsin-madison. Retrieved January 19,
2017, from http://file.scirp.org/pdf/CE_2015062615351819.pdf

Alquraini, T. (2010). Special education in saudi arabia: challenges, perspectives, future

Possibilities. International journal of special education, 25, 139-147. January 19,
2017, from
http://cluteinstitute.com/ojs/index.php/JIER/article/viewFile/8342/8370

Alquraini, T. A. (2011). Teachers’ Perspectives of Inclusion of the Students with Severe

Disabilities in Elementary Schools in Saudi Arabia. Unpublished Doctoral
Dissertation, Athens: Ohio University. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from
http://studylib.net/doc/8051398/special-education-in-saudi-arabia

Finland Regional preparatory workshop on inclusive education.(2007). Retrieved January

19, 2017, from
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Inclusive_Education/Reports/si
naia_07/finland_inclusion_07.pdf

Finland - Special needs education within the education system.(n.d). Retrieved January
19, 2017, from https://www.european-agency.org/country-
information/finland/national-overview/special-needs-education-within-the-
education-system

Murtagh, C. (2010) .Finnish lessons.Retrieved January 19, 2017, from

http://www.independentliving.org/studyworkabroad/FI/

Sahlberg, P. (2012).Quality and equity in finnish schools. Retived January 19, 2017,
from
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2015/ed
ucation/9015.pdf
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New Era University

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Critique Paper

in

EDSI 501. Special Education Models and Program Designs

and Implementation

Critique Paper on

Special Education Model of Different of Finland and Saudi Arabia

by

ERVIN D. SALUPARE
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