Principals’ views on changes in the provision of support for learning and schooling in Finland after educational reform

Abstract

Recently, the large-scale reforms of special education have been carried out in many countries. This study focuses on the latest Finnish reform of special education in compulsory education. As principals lead educational reforms in schools, their role in the implementation of reform is significant. The study explores principals’ views on the changes in support arrangements after the educational reform. We used latent class analysis to identify the subgroups of principals who share similar views. In addition, we examined the relationship between the subgroups and individual, school, and municipal level factors using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Four subgroups were identified: improved pedagogical support (19% of principals), stability of support (54%), increased administrative support (14%), and weakened support (13%). Work experience as a principal, school size, schools’ resources for special education, and region differentiated these subgroups from one another. Despite nationwide reform, the support arrangements and their changes differed among schools in the opinion of principals. We discuss the implications for the planning and implementation of the educational reforms.