Mission impossible? Finnish itinerant early childhood special education teachers’ views of their work and working conditions

ABSTRACT: Providing support to children in their younger years is prominent in Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC), as most children need some form of support for learning and development during this stage. Itinerant early childhood special education teachers (ECSETs) are important resources in providing support to children with special educational needs (SEN). Previous research in Finland addresses areas where itinerant ECSETs predominantly work in contexts where Finnish is the medium of instruction. Therefore, it is of interest to examine itinerant ECSETs' views of elements affecting their work with supporting children with SEN in Swedish-medium ECEC settings. This research is explorative to its character and data was collected through a questionnaire sent to all itinerant ECSETs working in Swedish-speaking regions of Finland. Descriptive statistics were used to depict the work conditions for ECSETs'. The results show that ECSETs own professional ambition and children’s support needs affect the work the most. Furthermore, inequality in ECSETs working conditions have direct consequences for practice. This study concludes with a discussion of how ECSETs' working conditions influence the support that children receive and areas that should be addressed to ensure equal and efficient learning for all children.