Featuring leading voices in the field from across Canada and Europe, this edited collection offers empirical analyses of the historical, social, cultural, and legislative determinants of inclusive education in Canadian schools. Covering four thematic areas including the structure, culture, and practices of inclusive education, the volume offers…

This study presents an analysis of hidden elitism in music education through the free choice argument -- that individuals are fundamentally free to choose to study music -- as a meritocratic power structure. Qualitative Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is applied to understand music education as a social system with a special structure in which its…

Researchers often find themselves reflecting on either/or questions. This article examines the multiple discursive reality of gender equality, a topic comprising several juxtapositions connected to either/or thinking which also provide the topic its legitimacy. The examples come from the context of gender equality work and gender equality policy,…

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…

Learning materials have become significant determinants of quality learning environments for young children. This study presents an example of such learning material in the Finnish context -- a children's book entitled: "Bibi muuttaa Suomeen" (translated: "Bibi Moves to Finland") by Katja Kallio and Maggie Lindholm (2005). The…

Recently, the "Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency" (2012) have funded programmes designed to advance European citizenship and citizen competences through education. This paper reports on the findings from one project, Creative Connections, designed to encourage the "voices" of young people in exploring European…

This article focuses on different ways in which socially disadvantaged parents engage with their children's educational experiences, and provides evidence of the role they play in opening or narrowing their children's access to education. Disadvantaged parents are usually associated with weak or difficult educational trajectories for their…

Describes programs intended for the retired and/or those close to retirement. Statistics are given on increased life-expectancy in Finland, thus justifying the need for such programs. (LF)

Reviews the theoretical background, methodology, and preliminary results of a planned study of what teachers think about power to be conducted in three stages with kindergarten and comprehensive school teachers in Finland. Preliminary results from 22 teachers identify power most clearly as a social category. (SLD)

Includes "The Paradox of Productive Aging" (Sicker); "Beyond Productive Aging" (Riley, Riley); "Changing Concepts; Visionary or Short-Sighted" (Holstein); "Making Aging Meaningful" (Glanz, Neikrug); and "Perspectives on Productive Aging from Austria, Bolivia, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Venezuela."…

Gender equality is a widely recognized value. Still, on the practical level, it is not easy to achieve true gender equality. Gender has proved to be a complicated issue both for research and practice. Gender change projects trying to make changes in detected disadvantages have repeatedly run into a problem: it is difficult to put gender issues on…