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Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Disability studies in education (DSE) is an interdisciplinary field derived from the need to re-conceptualise special education dominated by a medical perspective on disability. In this article we identify what characterises DSE research and consider whether there is a case for arguing for a specific field of DSE in Finland and Iceland. Our analysis is based on a review of 59 studies published by Finnish and Icelandic scholars during the time period of ratification process of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities from 2007 to 2016 in Finland and Iceland. We suggest that DSE has emerged as a dynamic area of research in both countries. It has provoked researchers to analyse disability in social contexts and turn the gaze from individual person with disabilities to the social structures and educational policies and practices. The fields of DSE in Finland and Iceland have not developed in identical ways and both have fluid crossovers to related fields such as disability studies and inclusive education. We argue for the potential of DSE to contribute to the discussion on educational equality and social justice. However, this requires opportunities to bring together scholars across disciplinary borders., This work was supported by the NordForsk [project no. 57741].

The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in Studying Teacher Education 2019 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi:10.1080/17425964.2018.1541290, This self-study, based on research, conducted over five years, focuses on my leadership role employing an inclusion model of education in a school in Iceland serving students from ages 6 to 16. In this article, we examine how Edda’s practice helped support inclusion for the students, their families, and the teachers who engage with them. This multilayered self-study research project included feedback and insights from others in order to inform my understanding of my practice within the context of inclusion. Findings reveal Edda’s focus on the discourse of diagnosis as a dominant structural issue within her practice. The resulting themes on perceptions of inclusion, coordination of support, deployment of people, and collaboration across different entities have informed my understanding about my practice and my perspective on the meaning of a support system within inclusive education and improved student performance.

This paper is a result of a collaboration across three researchers: the first author is a leader of the support system at the Waterfront school (pseudonym used) whose practice is the focus of this study, and the second and third authors engaged in the role as critical friends. Inclusion is the national policy that has the most effect on my practice as the leader of the support system for inclusive practice in a compulsory school serving all the children (ages 6-16) in the local community (approximately 500 pupils). As the leader of support I supervise special education teachers, classroom assistants, and social educators (educators who focus on social needs of learners). Another aspect of my role is to help classroom teachers with effective practices for learners with special needs, and to coordinate the delivery of special education. Inclusive practice is grounded in the ideologies of social justice, democracy, human rights and full participation of all (Ainscow, 2005; Florian, 2008; Guðjónsdóttir & Karlsdóttir, 2009; Jónsson, 2011). Inclusion is seen as an ongoing process focusing on increased performance, working against inequality, and increasing people’s sense of belonging in school and society (Booth, 2010). My reasons for doing self-study of my practice were that I felt the functionality of inclusive practices in my school was lacking, as could be seen in the “overreliance on paraprofessionals”(Giangreco, Broer, & Suter, 2011, p. 23), in the call for pull-out programs, in the lack of innovative solutions for pupils with emotional/behavioural problems, and in the daily discourse of labelling pupils according to their assessed deficits. However, my main reason for concern was that teachers often regarded pupils with special needs as guests in their classrooms, as these pupils have allocated support and the support system “owns” them. This self-study research, conducted over the past five years, focuses on my leadership role within an inclusion model of education and examines how my practice can help to support inclusion for the pupils, their families, and the teachers who engage with these pupils (Ainscow, Booth, & Dyson, 2004, 2006; Florian, 2014). This self-study was the central focus of this multi-layered research that included feedback and insights from others in order to inform my understanding of my practice within the context of inclusion. The purpose of this self-study was twofold: a) to understand my role in improving leadership and collaboration for inclusion, and b) to develop the support service in Waterfront School so that it reinforces inclusive practice. My self-study research was driven by the following over-arching question and sub-question: • How can I as a coordinator for support services improve the practice of support services in an inclusive school? • What can I do to make the organisation of support more inclusive?

This thesis has two overarching aims. The first is to generate further knowledge about Swedish independent schools, specifically regarding the organisation and provision of special support and how these relate to special educational traditions and inclusive education. This is conducted through four empirical studies, utilising data gathered in two total population survey studies. The first survey was a total population study of Swedish independent compulsory schools (N = 686, response rate = 79%), and results from this study are presented in articles I, II and IV. Article III presents results derived from a total population survey of special pedagogues (SENCOs) and special education teachers in Sweden educated according to the degree ordinances of 2001, 2007 and 2008 (N = 4252, response rate = 75%). Article I contains a general description of special education issues in the total population of independent schools. Article II continues with comparisons of these issues in different groups of independent compulsory schools. Article III studies differences in organisational prioritisations regarding special support and special educators in municipal and independent schools. Finally, article IV presents qualitative content analysis of over 400 responses regarding special support at independent schools. The second overarching aim of the thesis is to further develop the discussions initiated in the articles about how special education and inclusive education can be understood in light of the education reforms that introduced the independent schools. A critical theoretical analysis and contextualization of the empirical results from the articles is conducted to explain and describe the consequences of the new (market) education paradigm. Results show that, generally, the independent schools have not challenged special educational traditions to a significant degree. Rather, traditional conceptions, explanations and organisational measures are reproduced, and in some cases enhanced, by market mechanisms. However, there are great differences between the different types of schools with regard to both their perspectives on special education and their organisational approaches. There are also indications that the principle of choice is limited for this pupil group as compared to some other groups. Additionally, the increasing clustering of pupils in need of special support at certain schools replicates a system with special schools. In this case, market mechanisms are contributing to a system that is in contradiction to the idea of an inclusive school system. The theoretical interpretation of the results suggests that Skrtic’s theory can largely explain the empirical patterns found. However, his theory gives rise to different predictions or potential scenarios depending on what parts of his theory are underscored. Moreover, his theory must be complemented with additional perspectives to more fully account for diversity within the results, particularly as the results indicate that discourses/paradigms of special education and inclusive education often occur simultaneously and can thus be seen as expressions of practices taking place in a complex social and political environment., Denna avhandling har två övergripande syften. Först, att generera kunskaper om fristående grundskolor i Sverige, specifikt vad gäller organisation och tillhandahållande av särskilt stöd, samt hur det kan förstås i ljuset av specialpedagogiska traditioner och inkludering. Fyra empiriska studier presenteras med data från två stora forskningsprojekt. Det ena var en totalpopulations undersökning av fristående grundskolor (N=686, respons=79 %), resultat från den presenteras i artikel I, II och IV. Artikel III presenterar resultat från en totalpopulations undersökning av specialpedagoger och speciallärare i Sverige, utbildade enligt examensförordningarna från 2001, 2007 och 2008 (N=4252, respons: 75 %). Artikel I beskriver specialpedagogiska frågor inom hela populationen av fristående skolor i generella termer. Artikel II gör jämförelser mellan olika grupper av fristående skolor, artikel III beskriver skillnader i specialpedagogisk organisation mellan fristående och kommunala skolor i termer av specialpedagogers och speciallärares anställningssituation och artikel IV presenterar resultat av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av över 400 svar om särskilt stöd i fristående skolor. Det andra övergripande syftet är att utveckla den teoretiska diskussionen som initierades i artiklarna, om hur specialpedagogik och inkludering kan förstås i ljuset av de utbildningsreformer som presenterade skolval och fristående skolor i Sverige. En kritisk teoretisk analys och kontextualisering av de empiriska resultaten från artiklarna genomförs för att förklara och beskriva konsekvenserna av de nya (marknads) paradigmet inom svensk utbildning. Resultaten visar att de fristående skolorna inte har utmanat specialpedagogiska traditioner i någon högre grad generellt. Traditionella synsätt, förklaringar och organisatoriska lösningar reproduceras, till och med förstärks, av marknadsmekanismer. Däremot så är det stora skillnader mellan olika skolor, både vad gäller specialpedagogiska perspektiv och organisatoriska lösningar. Det finns också tecken på att skolvalet kan vara begränsat när det gäller elever i behov av särskilt stöd. Dessutom riskerar en samling av elever i behov av särskilt stöd på vissa skolor att reproducera ett system med specialskolor, något som inte är i linje med ambitioner för ett inkluderande skolsystem. De teoretiska tolkningarna av resultaten visar att Skrtic’s teoretiska verktyg kan till en hög grad förklara de empiriska resultaten. Däremot kan olika scenarier skapas beroende på vilka delar av hans teorier som betonas. Dessutom behöver hans teorier kompletteras med tilläggsperspektiv för att förklara variationen i resultaten.

The compulsory school act in Iceland states that schools should be inclusive. This entails that schools need to provide every pupil with quality education according to their needs and ability, and to remove barriers to participation in learning and social situations to enable pupils and their parents to belong in the school community. Given the fact that the policy calls for significant restructuring of school organisation, it is important to consider how and whether the organisation of special needs education and support operates according to the ideology of inclusive education. The research focuses on how I, a coordinator for support services in a compulsory school in Iceland, worked on developing the organisation of support towards inclusive practice. Inclusive practice is grounded in the ideologies of social justice, democracy, human rights and full participation of all. In using the term inclusive practice, I seek to demonstrate that there are many factors that have an impact on the process of inclusion in a school setting and to emphasise the fact that inclusion is a process that can never be completed. The research is framed by the concepts of collaboration between classroom teachers and support services, leadership for inclusion and reflective practice, as these concepts have been considered crucial for re-conceptualising education practice to become inclusive. Self-study methodology was employed in the research to allow for understanding of my role in transforming practice and how that transpired. The purpose has been to transform the support service in Waterfront School so that it reinforces inclusive practice and to understand my role in improving leadership and collaboration for inclusion. This is a study in and of my practice that was divided into three distinct phases: reconnaissance phase, enactment phase and reflective phase. In the reconnaissance phase I interviewed administrators, teachers and support staff working at the school in order to achieve insight into how the people I work with understand inclusion and into their views on the support system and collaboration. Analysis of this phase illustrates the voices of staff working with pupils in the school by highlighting their perception of inclusion and their ideas about how the support system could be improved. Based on this analysis I created an action plan that I implemented in the next cycle of the research, the enactment phase. In the enactment phase the organisation of the support service was transformed according to analysis of the data from the reconnaissance phase and the process was recorded in a self-reflective research journal. Furthermore, the viewpoints of parents, pupils and learning support assistants were gathered on inclusive practices in the school and how that could be improved from their standpoint. The analysis of this phase gives an insight into how the coordination of the support system was developed, what the main challenges were, and how collaboration between general educators and the support staff in the school was transformed. In the reflective phase, I reflected on my learning of the practitioner research, alone and with others, as I analysed the data and gained understanding of my development in thinking and practice. Through reflection and with the assistance of critical friends I transformed the findings into a story that others might relate to and perhaps learn from. Findings from this study cast a light on the factors constraining or facilitating the restructuring of the support service as inclusive practice in a school. The findings show that even though I was committed to improving the practices of support, there were influences and barriers to those improvements that made the whole process complex. Breaking away from the discourses of disability, charity and pathology that dictate the practice of support, thereby changing my own and others mind set, proved to be the greatest challenge. My contribution to knowledge is the provision of a first-hand account of a middle manager endeavouring to change practice towards inclusion. Furthermore, I used the understanding gained from the research to form a model of an inclusive education system, which can be employed to inform school change across system levels, to explore inclusive practices, and to support teacher education and professional development. Through the research process I have gained an understanding that creating an inclusive support system is a complex venture. It is bigger than improving collaboration and leadership of the coordinator for support. I have learned that the position of a coordinator for support needs to be reconceptualised. While the teachers are responsible for meeting the daily needs of their pupils, the coordinator for support services has a role to provide the support and advice required to assist each teacher in fulfilling their statutory duties., Í lögum um grunnskóla á Íslandi er kveðið á um að skólar eigi að vera án aðgreiningar. Það þýðir að skólum ber að veita öllum nemendum góða menntun í samræmi við þarfir þeirra og hæfni auk þess að fjarlægja hindranir fyrir þátttöku í námi og félagslegum aðstæðum til að gera nemendum og foreldrum klei ft að tilh eyra skólasamfélaginu . Í ljósi þess að stefna n kallar umtalsverðar breytingar á skipulagi skólastarfs er brýnt að huga að hvernig og hvort fyrirkomulag sérkennslu og stuðnings fellur að hugmyndafræði skóla án aðgreiningar . Rannsó knarverkefnið fjallar um hvernig ég, í hlutverki deildarstjó ra stoðþjónustu í grunnskóla á Íslandi , leitaðist við að þróa skipulag stuðnings og sérkennslu í átt til þess að vera á n aðgreiningar. Starf í skóla án aðgreiningar byggist á félagslegu réttlæti, lýðræði, m annréttindum og þátttöku allra sem þýðir að það eru margir þættir sem hafa áhrif á ferilinn í átt til þess að skólar séu án aðgreiningar . Á hersla er lögð á að þessi feri ll sé án enda, verði ætíð verk í vinnslu eða eitthvað til að stefna að. Rannsóknin byggir á hugmyndum fræðimanna um þætti sem taldir eru mikilvægir fyrir þróun skóla án aðgreiningar: samstarf kennara og stoðþjónustu, forystu fyrir skóla án aðgreiningar og ígrundun í starfi. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að umbreyta skipulagi stoðþjónustu í einum grunnskóla, Vatnaskóla, þannig að stuðningur yrði án aðgreiningar auk þess að öðlast dýpri skilning á hlutverki mínu sem deildarstjóra við að efla forystu og samstarf. Ég nýtti aðferðir starfstengdrar sjálfsrýni, á ensku self - study, við rannsóknina til að öðlast skilning á breytingarferlinu og hlutverki forystu í starfi. Hér er um að ræða rannsókn á og rannsókn í starfi mínu sem deildarstjó ri stoðþjónustu og va r henni skipt upp í þrjú skeið : undirbú ningsskeið , framkvæmda skeið og ígrundunar skeið . Á undirbúnings skeiðinu tók ég viðtöl við stjórnendur, kennara, starfsfólk stoðþjónustu og námsráðgjafa. Flest viðtalanna voru rýnihópaviðtöl en tvö voru einstaklingsvið töl. Tilgangur viðtalanna var að öðlast innsýn inn í skilning samstarfsfólks míns á skóla án aðgreiningar og hverjar hugmyndir þeirra væru um stoðþjónustuna og samstarf. Greining gagna frá þessu skeiði varpar ljósi á hvernig starfsfólk og stjórnendur skilj a skóla án aðgreiningar og á hugmyndir þeirra um hvernig hægt er að þróa stoðþjónustuna og samstarf innan skólans. Á þeirri greiningu byggði ég síðan áætlun sem var framkvæmd á næsta stigi rannsóknarinnar: framkvæmdaskeiðinu. iv Á framkvæmdaskeiðinu vann ég a ð breytingum á skipulagi stoðþjónustunnar samkvæmt því sem fram kom í niðurstöðum greininga gagna af undirbúningsskeiðinu og var breytingarferillinn skráður í rannsóknardagbók. Á þessu stigi tók ég einnig viðtal við mæður nokkurra barna í skólanum, gerði v erkefni með nemendum í 4., 6. og 9. - 10. bekk og tók viðtöl við nokkra þeirra, og tók viðtal við hóp af stuðningsfulltrúum. Tilgangurinn með þessari gagnaöflun var að fá fram sýn þessa hópa á starf í skóla án aðgreiningar og hvernig bæta mætti starfsemi sto ðþjónustunnar. Greining á gögnum af þessu skeiði gaf innsýn inn í hvernig til tókst með að breyta skipulagi stoðþjónustunnar, hverjar voru helstu áskoranirnar og hvernig samstarf kennara og starfsfólks stoðþjónustu breyttist á tímabilinu. Á ígrundunarskei ðinu rýndi ég í það sem ég hafði lært á rannsókninni, ein og með aðstoð annarra, í þeim tilgangi að greina gögnin og skilja hvernig ég þróaðist í starfi og hugsun . Með ígrundun gagna og samvinnu við rýnivini náði ég að setja fram í niðurstöðum sögu sem aðr ir geta samsamað sig við og jafnvel lært af . Niðurstöðurnar sýna að það reyndist ekki auðvelt að ná markmiðum verkefnisins varðandi umbreytingu á stoðþjónustunni. Það voru ýmis ljón í veginum sem gerðu ferlið flókið. Stærsta áskorunin reyndist vera að bre yta orðræðu fötlunar, meðaumkunar og læknisfræði sem stýrði hugarfari mínu og annarra og setti mark sitt á hvernig stoðþjónustunni var háttað. Framlag mitt til þekkingar er frásögn millistjórnanda af því hvernig hægt er að breyta stoðþjónustunni í átt til þess að vera án aðgreiningar. Til að ná yfirsýn yfir flækjurnar og hvernig aðilar, stofnanir, lög og reglugerðir í lagskiptingu skólakerfisins tengjast og vinna saman útbjó ég kerfisbundið yfirlit yfir stefnu skóla án aðgreiningar og hvað hún felur í sér. Þetta yfirlit getur nýst kennurum, stjórnendum, skólum eða skólakerfum sem vilja gera breytingar á stuðningi og sérkennslu eða gera athugun á skó lastarfi . Auk þess getur þetta yfirlit verið upplýsandi í kennaramenntun og endurmenntun kennara og stjórnenda í starfi. Ég hef öðlast skilning á því í gegnum rannsóknina að það að breyta stoðþjónustu skóla í átt til þess að vera án aðgreiningar er flókið framtak, mun flóknara en að bæta samstarf eða forystu deildarstjóra stoðþjónustu. Kennarar eru ábyrgir fyrir þ ví að mæta daglegum þörfum nemenda sinna, en deildarstjóri stoðþjónustu hefur það hlutverk að styðja kennara og veita þeim þá ráðgjöf sem dugar til þess að þeir geti uppfyllt lögbundnar starfsskyldur sínar.