Needs for development towards a more inclusive education system:  The case of Finland : A systematic literature review from 2009 to 2019

The movement towards developing existing education systems to be more inclusive can be seen worldwide. However, even in a country such as Finland where inclusive ideology has been promoted in national policies for a considerable time, there are existing needs for development that need to be examined. The aim of this systematic review was to examine these existing needs for development in primary schools in Finland. Inclusive education means the inclusion of all children. In this systematic review, the focus was on those children in risk of exclusion with special educational needs due to a disability. The results are analyzed by utilizing a framework inspired by the framework developed by Ainscow and Miles (2009). The results show that there are several needs for development especially related to systems and structures, and practice. Furthermore, more systematic actions are needed moving from policies to effective implementation of inclusive practices. Overall, inclusion is a complex concept and future research conducted with diverse groups of children of all ages is greatly needed.