Concepts and definitions
- Acceptances or transfers to special education
In the statistics on special education in comprehensive schools, acceptances and transfers to special education refer to pupils who have been accepted or transferred to special education due to disability, illness, delayed development, emotional disorder or other reason. Decisions about acceptances or transfers are made by municipal administrative bodies and require hearing of experts and parents, and drawing up of plans concerning the organisation of personal teaching. If necessary, the number of subjects can be individualised and reduced from those in general education. Duration of compulsory education can also be extended where the pupil is unlikely to reach the targets set for comprehensive school education within nine years.
- Additional education
In the statistics on comprehensive school education and special education, additional education refers to the optional additional class (10th class) of one year's duration available at comprehensive schools.
- Arrangement of teaching in special education
In the statistics on special education in comprehensive schools the arrangement of teaching pupils accepted or transferred to special education is as follows:
1. Teaching is arranged as general teaching: pupils study courses according to the curriculum of general teaching.
2. Some courses have been individualised: pupils study less extensive, individualised courses in one of more subject.
3. All courses have been individualised: pupils study less extensive, individualised courses in all subjects.- Comprehensive school
In the statistics on pre-primary and comprehensive school education, subject choices of students, special education, and students and qualifications of educational institutions comprehensive schools refer to educational institutions providing basic, general knowledge teaching to an entire age cohort (basic comprehensive school education, compulsory education school). All children of the compulsory school age of 7 to 16 must complete the comprehensive school. Completion of the comprehensive school takes nine years.
Educational institutions of the following types classify as comprehensive schools:
Comprehensive schools
Comprehensive school level special schools
Comprehensive and upper secondary level schoolsThe full comprehensive school syllabus or subject studied within it can also be completed in upper secondary general schools and folk high schools but the basic teaching they provide is aimed at students over the compulsory school age (basic education of adults). These educational institutions and their students are not usually included in the statistics describing comprehensive schools.
- Education
Education refers here to education leading to a qualification or degree.
Education leading to a qualification or degree (qualification or degree-oriented education)refers to education leading to the completion of the full syllabus of comprehensive school (school-leaving certificate), completion of the full syllabus of upper secondary general school (matriculation examination certificate), International Baccalaureate certificate, Reifeprüfung certificate, European Baccalaureate certificate, Gymnasieexamen certificate, initial vocational qualification, basic vocational qualification, specialist vocational qualification, polytechnic degree, higher polytechnic degree or university degree.
Education leading to a qualification or degree is classified by the classification of education.
- Educational institution
An educational institution refers to an administrative unit with a principal or other head, which has teachers and other personnel in its service (role of employers), and which is liable to keep books and compile other documentation, in which students are registered, whose activities are regulated by a legal act or decree, which follows a national curriculum, and which is financed and controlled by a public authority. An educational institution does not refer to a school building or facility. A new educational institution is established, an educational institution is abolished or merged with another educational institution at the decision of the organiser of education (maintainer of the educational institution) or a public authority.
Statistics Finland has assigned an individualised educational institution ID to each educational institution. Educational institutions are classified according to a classification of types of educational institutions.
- Educational system
The Finnish educational system is comprised of the following:
Pre-primary education is provided in Finland to children between the ages of three and six, usually at children's day care homes. Some 6-year-old children receive pre-primary education in comprehensive schools. Attendance of pre-primary education is voluntary.
Comprehensive school education is general knowledge education provided for entire age cohorts. All children permanently resident in Finland must attend compulsory education. Compulsory education starts in the year of the child's seventh birthday.
Compulsory education finishes when the syllabus of comprehensives school education has been completed (9-year comprehensive school), or 10 years from the start of compulsory education. In exceptional cases compulsory education may start already at the age of six and last 11 years due to a disability or illness. A student who has received a leaving certificate from comprehensive school in the same year or in the year before it may continue to attend optional additional education (10th grade).Post-comprehensive school education, or upper secondary general education and vocational education represent secondary level of education. Upper secondary general school education is education leading to a matriculation examination. Its scope is three years and it gives general eligibility to further education. Vocational education can be either educational institution-based or apprenticeship training. In apprenticeship training, most of the studying is comprised of learning through practical work tasks at a workplace. The qualifications are initial vocational qualifications attained in three years, which also give general eligibility to further polytechnic or university studies.
Further and specialist vocational qualifications represent further vocational education. They, as well as initial vocational qualifications can be attained in a skills examination that can be taken irrespective of the way of acquisition of professional skills, and in which skills can be proven on the basis of preparatory education for a skills examination or work experience.
Attainment of polytechnic degrees takes 3.5 to 4.5 years and higher polytechnic degrees requiring work practice 1-1.5 years. Attainment of lower university degrees takes three years while higher university degrees take two years longer. Attainers of higher level university degrees may continue their studies to licentiate and doctorate level degrees.
- Grade
In the statistics on comprehensive school education, subject choices of students and special education, comprehensive school education is divided into nine grades from one to nine. In addition to these, pre-primary education of pupils of pre-primary education registered in comprehensive schools and additional education (10th class) of comprehensive school education are included in comprehensive school education.
Statistics on pupils are compiled by grade. If pupils cannot be allocated to a certain grade, e.g. in special education, they are included in the statistics of the grade that corresponds their age.
- Grounds for special education
In the statistics on special education in comprehensive schools the grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education have been as follows since 2001:
1. Severely delayed development
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are moderate, severe or very severe delay of development. Pupils' courses are always partly or completely individualised.
2. Slightly delayed development
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are slight delay in the pupil's development.
3. Varying degrees of cerebral dysfunction, physical disability or similar
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are pupil's neurological disability or developmental disorder, such as ADHD, or physical disability, such as the CP syndrome.
4. Emotional disturbance or social maladjustment
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are pupil's emotional disturbance or social maladjustment.
5. Learning difficulties related to autism or the Asperger's syndrome
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are pupil's autism or Asperger's syndrome.
6. Learning difficulties caused by impaired linguistic development (dysphasia)
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are pupil's impaired linguistic development (dysphasia).
7. Visual impairment
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are pupil's visual impairment.
8. Hearing impairment
-The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are pupil's hearing impairment.9. Other than reasons listed above
- The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special education are some other reasons not listed above.
The grounds for special education are based on the decision concerning acceptance or transfer to special education.
In the statistics on special needs education in vocational education the grounds for special education are:
In 1999-2003 the following
1. Auditory impairment
2. Visual impairment
3. Muscular-skeletal impairment
4. Chronic illness
5. Delayed development
6. Severe delay of development
7. Emotional disturbance and
8. Other reason.Starting from 2004 the following
01. Perception, attention and concentration difficulty, such as ADHD or ADD, or
02. Linguistic difficulties, such as severe reading difficulty, dysphasia, dyslexia.
03. Interactive and behavioural disorders, such a social maladjustment
04. Slightly delayed development, student has extensive learning difficulties
05. Severely delayed development, medium or severe mental handicap
06. Chronic psychological illnesses, mental health problems, rehabilitating drug abusers
07. Chronic somatic chronic illnesses, such as allergy, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, cancer
08. Learning difficulties related to autism or the Asperger's syndrome
09. Difficulties of mobility and motoric functions, such as musculo-skeletal disorders, the CP syndrome, dwarfism
10. Auditory impairment
11. Visual impairment
12. Other reason necessitating special teaching.The grounds for acceptance or transfer to special needs education is determined by the primary reason for needing special teaching.
- Part-time special education
In the statistics on special education in comprehensive schools part-time special education refers to education that is organised for comprehensive school pupils because of minor difficulties in learning or adjustment. Both pupils without a decision of acceptance or transfer who only receive part-time special education and pupils who have been accepted or transferred to special education who receive part-time special education in addition to their other special educational arrangements are regarded as pupils receiving part-time special education.
- Place of provision of special education
In the statistics on special education in comprehensive schools the places of provision of special education are as follows:
1. All teaching is provided in a general education group: pupils are fully integrated into groups attending general education.
2. Teaching is partially provided in a general education group: pupils study partly in special classes or groups and partly in groups attending general education.
3. Special groups, special classes: pupils study in special groups or classes.- Pre-primary education
In the statistics on pre-primary and special education pre-primary education refers to the education of pupils enrolled as pre-primary school pupils in comprehensive schools. Pre-primary education is education intended for 6-year-old children who will be starting comprehensive education in the following year. Besides in pre-primary classes of comprehensive schools, pre-primary education is also provided in children's day care homes. Attendance of pre-primary education is voluntary.
- Pupil
In the statistics on comprehensive school education, on subject choices of students and on special education, comprehensive school pupils refer to all pupils registered at comprehensive schools: pupils of pre-primary education, pupils of grades 1 to 9 and pupils of additional education (10th class).
Data on the number of comprehensive school pupils describe the situation on 20 September.
- Reason for part-time special education
In the statistics on special education in comprehensive schools the reasons for part-time special education are as follows:
1 Speech disorder
2 Reading or writing disorder or difficulty
3 Learning difficulty in mathematics
4 Learning difficulty in foreign languages
5 Difficulties in adjustment or emotional disorder or
6 Other learning difficulties.The reason for part-time special education is determined by the primary reason for needing special education.
- Sector of education
In the statistics on educational institutions, education is divided into the following sectors of education:
- Comprehensive school education
- Upper secondary general education
- Vocational education
- Polytechnic education
- University education.
- Special education
In the statistics on special education within comprehensive schools special education refers (since 1995) to education arranged for comprehensive school pupils because of disability, delayed development, emotional disturbance or some other comparable reason (acceptances and transfers to special education) or because of slight learning or adaptation difficulties (part-time special education). The law obliges that a personal plan concerning the organisation of teaching must be drawn up for the pupil.
Special education in comprehensive schools differs from general education in that it requires considerable special arrangements. The arrangements may concern the curriculum, teaching methods, student assessment, instruments, mode of communication, etc. Pupils of special education receive teaching in connection with general education, in special groups or special schools.
In the statistics on special needs education in vocational education special needs education refers (since 1995)to teaching that is organised because of disability, illness, delayed development or some other reason for students requiring special teaching or student services. The law on vocational education obliges that a personal plan concerning the arrangement of teaching must be drawn up for the pupil.
- Student
Vocational education students refer to the students of curriculum-based vocational education who are registered at an educational institution on 20 September and to the students of preparatory education for a skills examination who are registered at an educational institution during the calendar year.
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
Special education [e-publication].
ISSN=1799-1617. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 9.2.2012].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/erop/kas_en.html.
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