PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND TEACHING COMPETENCE AMONG SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN FINLAND

This study examines special education teachers' perceptions of teacher education and its contribution to their teaching competence in dealing with diversity. The study consists of a qualitative approach that utilised semi-structured interviews and participant observation as data collection tools. Five special education teachers in mainstream and special schools located in the Metropolitan area of Helsinki (Finland) participated in the research undertaking. The interview questions covered two different categories related to the teachers' perceptions concerning their professional experiences and their teacher training. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts. Given this small sample group, the results of the study make no claims for generalisability, but the findings revealed that the participants have a positive attitude towards their own teacher education and their perceived teaching expertise. Participants refer to the high quality of Finnish teacher education and the role of admission tests for teacher studies in general. Teacher education is one of the most desired study programs in Finland and the selective structure of teacher training is considered by several Finnish authors as one of the main reasons for the successful performance of Finland in the PISA studies. However, some special education teachers do not feel prepared to support students with more complex disabilities in inclusive settings due to their more general (special) teacher education. Results will be presented and discussed through the following categories: (1) Quality of teacher education in Finnish universities and (2) Missing teaching expertise to respond to the individual needs of all children.