Tracing Inclusive Education and its Prerequisites in the Finnish Education System

This chapter addresses two different factors that have impacted the evelopment of the Finnish basic education system. On the one hand, the Finnish education system has succeeded in taking steps to make its education system more socially just. Finnish legislation and norms have deepened the understanding of the characteristics of inclusive education by emphasising socio-constructivist learning, learning skills and social interaction and by paying attention to developing a collective and supportive school culture. On the other hand, the problems in large Finnish cities and in remote areas in northern Finland have been diverging and growing. The demand for cost-efficiency has been competing with the human values of education, which has caused educational
inequality in Finland. It has possibly also enhanced some misinterpretation of
inclusive education.