The Paradox of Documentation in Early Childhood Special Education in Finland and Norway: Exploring Discursive Tensions in the Public Debate

Authors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23865/nse.v43.3984

Abstract

A child’s right to special educational support is often ensured through documentation, which, as an institutional practice, is consequential. We explore documentation as a policy solution in Finnish and Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems, which have both been undergoing changes as the realization of special educational support is found to be insufficient. We investigate discursive tensions in the public debate regarding documentation and illustrate tensions between documentation as 1) a way of safeguarding a child’s right vs. a barrier to support, 2) assessments requiring distance from vs. closeness to the child, and 3) decisions requiring pedagogical vs. administrative positions.

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Published

2023-05-04

How to Cite

Heiskanen, N., & Franck, K. (2023). The Paradox of Documentation in Early Childhood Special Education in Finland and Norway: Exploring Discursive Tensions in the Public Debate. Nordic Studies in Education, 43(2), 164–180. https://doi.org/10.23865/nse.v43.3984

Keywords:

documentation, special educational support, early childhood education and care (ECEC), policy solution