Dialogue with Kalle Könkkölä, Executive Director of Kynnys (2/3)
Vie, 04/07/2014
KALLE KÖNKKÖLÄ, INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY IN FINLAND
What is the situation of inclusive education in Finland nowadays?
Kalle Könkkölä: Since 20 years ago, it has been obligatory for people with disabilities in Finland to attend school, and 10 years ago the ‘Education Strategy for Finland 2020’ was launched. In Finland, the education of people with disabilities is nevertheless still more ‘segregated’ than inclusive even if research activities in Jyvaskyla for example focus on inclusive education. Since the human rights approach dominates nowadays in Finland, segregation itself is not accepted anymore, but special education is fine. There is one big special education school in Helsinki with about 150 pupils, and one in Jyvaskyla and one in Porvoo, but they focus mainly on social and pedagogical problems. There are a lot of differences in special education around Finland because of the system. Nowadays, you can also find special education classes in mainstream schools, but these are like special education school.
The service for learning disabilities might be impressive, but Finland it is still far behind other Nordic countries. There seems to be this tension between the traditional way of doing things and progress towards inclusion. Teachers and teacher unions are generally not for inclusion, and claim to be paid more in order to work with special needs kids.
The situation outside schools is better today - many things have improved in Finland since 40 years ago, especially in regards to accessibility of public transportation and buildings. Nevertheless, unemployment among people with disabilities is still very high. Reasons for this can be found in the education systems, the comfort of the social security system and the difficult situation with employers that are not ready to employ people with disabilities. I have also noticed that, for example, the number of blind people at university went down rapidly. They might go to polytechnics now, but then they can never be leaders since they have no qualifications, which I find sad.
Which other current challenges and trends towards inclusive education in Finland do you observe?
Kalle Könkkölä: There are huge differences in inclusive education in urban and rural areas here in Finland. In rural areas students with disabilities are really included in mainstream classes since every student is important in order for a school to stay open. I think that parents play a key role in this - they should give information about the child’s disability. Teachers are well trained and well paid but more support from them is needed to include children with disabilities and special educational needs (mostly with behavior problems). It is crucial to have more resources and more training for teachers!
Also, former special education schools are now resource centres, institutions now rehabilitation centres. Sometimes just the name is changed, but the same people work there. Nevertheless, the number of children in institutions is going down rapidly.
How is the accessibility situation in Finland, especially in regards to schools?
Kalle Könkkölä: All 25 schools in Helsinki are now starting to be accessible. There will be more people with disabilities with the ageing of society and accessibility will become more important as an issue. Things have improved in the last 20 years, but it is still legal to build houses with no access for people with disabilities whatsoever. The excuse is that it's cheaper that way. Which brings me to the question: what is the price of human rights? Apart from housing, public transport has always been essential for people with disabilities and it is also a gauge of equality. Low-floor buses and trams have become more common, and the Finnish State Railways have improved their services.
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Dialogue with Kalle Könkkölä, Executive Director of Kynnys (1/3)
