Bridging the Gap: Inclusion Policies for Disabled Children in Nordic Context

1. Ideals and realities of the inclusion policies:the case of disabled children in a Nordic country Jan Tøssebro NTNU Protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in Europe European Council, Strasbourg, October 29-30, 2008

2. Inclusion and human rights • The Child Convention • The Standard Rules • The Salamanca Declaration • The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities • Two issues related to the human rights of disabled children: • Growing up at home/ in a family setting • Inclusive education

3. Inclusion or desegregation:The critique of institutions and special schools • They makes the problem worse • The labelling critique • The psycho-social effects • Unacceptable living conditions • The level of living/ living conditions • Separate is not equal • Lessons from international research • The study of effects • The study of implementation and ideal-reality gaps

4. The new public-family division of labour: • Growing up in the family – a basic pillar since the 1960s • Preferred alternative: foster homes • Public responsibility for: • Day services (nurseries, schooling) • Economic support • Practical support (respite care, technichal aids, etc) • Habilitation, special education, health services • Problems • Access to services • Coordination between services • Families appear like most other families with children

5. Pupils in segregated schools/classes in 14 European countries. 1996. Per cent. Source: Vislie 2003

6. Special education regimes (Mejier et al 1994) • One track system • Most pupils in mainstream education • Examples: Italy, Sweden, Norway, Spain • Two track system • Moderate no. of students classified as in need of special education services • Nearly all “classified” children are segregated • Examples: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany • Multi-track system • A range of options • Many children classified as in need of services • Most “classified” children in regular schools, some in special units • Examples: Denmark, USA

7. Norwegian experiences – nursery schools • Admittance practice: • All are admitted; queuing or mandatory? • Type of service/segregation: • 12 % in special units • Variation in placement policy • Type of disability (children with multiple disabilities) • Size of municipality (more segregation in large cities) • Social participation • Rejection uncommon but situated interaction breakdown frequent; • Special education • Non inclusive special education practices • Appeals and complaints • Parental satisfaction and support

8. Norwegian experiences – primary schools • Education for all • Compulsory for 10 years • Individual right for 13 years • A right to special education and individually adapted education • Type of school • Large majority of disabled children included, but some exceptions: • Hearing impaired children • Intellectually disabled children/ children with multiple disabilities • Segregation linked to age and size of municipality • Physical disability – the problem of accessibility

9. Segregation of intellectually disabled children by age/grade. Percent.Source: Tøssebro 2003

10. Recent developments • The growth of a new adaptation to ideal-reality gaps: • Fewer children are moved to special units as they grow older • More ”included” children are taken out of class • The move to special units as one grows older is replaced by out-of-class teaching – part-time segregation, appendix to a regular class • Interpretation: Practical adaptations to the tension between the ideology of inclusion and traditional teaching and special education practices • Special education as safety valve

11. The problem of inclusion • Exhibition of deviance • No mum, please, give me at least a try • The challenge may in particular be the relation between special and regular education, that the practice of special education should support rather than contradict the inclusion ideology