Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries by Hanssen, Natallia Bahdanovich; Harju-Luukkainen, Heidi; Sundqvist, Christel;

Short description:

Inclusion for immigrant students with special educational needs (SEN) is a neglected area of research. This edited volume addresses this problem, providing up to date insights into the provided support and special needs education (SNE) for immigrant students in different contexts of the Nordic countries.

Long description:

Inclusion for immigrant students with special educational needs (SEN) is a neglected area of research. This edited volume addresses this problem, providing up-to-date insights into the provided support and special needs education (SNE) for immigrant students in different contexts of the Nordic countries.

This important book explores the diversity of student experiences, addressing both compulsory schools and vocational education, and examines how different Nordic countries conceptualise and approach support and SNE for immigrant students. Readers will get an opportunity to read various studies that address gaps in the realisation of inclusion and special need education. This book initiates a dialogue on generating new knowledge, approaches, and methods to expand the flexibility necessary to implement a fully inclusive education. The book offers research that includes strong theoretical and practical frameworks, interviews, interventions, assessments, case studies as well as offers future directions for inclusive and special needs education.

By exploring the process of inclusion and special needs education in the Nordic countries, this book is an essential read for those who intend to deepen their understanding and to enact inclusion, and the development of special needs education for immigrant students.

Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

'If you are looking for a book that provides insights into the challenges faced by immigrant students with special education needs in the Nordic countries, and the strategies employed by the educational systems to address these challenges, then go no further. "Inclusion and Special Education Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries" edited by Hanssen, Harju-Luukkainen and Sundqvist is the book that you cannot miss. The authors in this book draw on their extensive expert research and real-world examples to demonstrate the importance of inclusive and equitable education practices for immigrant students. The book offers both policy examples and practical advice on how schools and educators can support students, including suggestions for effective teacher training, collaboration with parents and communities.'

 Professor Sivanes Phillipson Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Education, School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education, Swinburne University of Technology 

'This timely volume provides current, research-informed portraits of inclusive education for immigrant children and students across different grade levels, instructional settings and areas of challenge. Each chapter resonates with the voices of multilingual students and puts forth school-based practices and system level policies that provide a road map towards removing barriers and optimizing the educational experiences for and the wellbeing of these students. Researchers, policy-makers and practitioners will welcome this very informative guide.'

 Cristina Sánchez-López, Paridad Education Consulting and DePaul University, Chicago

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction to Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries;  2. Towards inclusive language education for immigrant students in Norwegian schools: a translanguaging-driven perspective;  3. Inclusion of Newly Arrived Migrant Students in Norwegian Schools: An Investigation of Different Introductory Models for Language Learning and Inclusion;  4. Assessing developmental language disorder in bilingual immigrant children: The case of morphological knowledge and executive functions;  5. “Then we had to analyse a picture” - blind immigrant student in upper secondary school;  6. Transformative leadership for inclusion and special needs education for immigrant students;  7. At the intersection of ethnicity and special educational needs. Findings from a longitudinal study in Finland ;  8. “First, you must speak good Finnish.” Adult immigrants’ descriptions of the actants supporting and hindering their inclusion in education and work in Finland;  9. Inclusion and special needs support for immigrant students in Finland;  10. Embodiment, creativity, and cultural sensitivity: including children’ productions and perspectives in the evaluation of their educational needs;  11. A scoping review on inclusion of immigrant children and families in Nordic Early Childhood Education;  12. The professional role of special needs educators in Sweden related to special support and development of learning environments for immigrant students;  13. Deaf, diverse and denied: Insights and challenges in responding to the educational and linguistic human rights of deaf immigrant students;  14. School(s) for all?: Inclusion, special education and multilingualism at the intersection of disability and migration in Sweden;  15. Teachers’ perspectives on additional support for immigrant students in Icelandic schools;  16. Inclusion and special needs education for immigrant students in the Nordic countries – What are the lessons?