Equity in education is a widely shared objective in Europe; however,its realisation in practice remains complex, with resource allocationas a central determinant. This systematic review reports on thecurrent state of empirical research concerning funding models forspecial education from an equity perspective. Drawing on studiespublished between 2006 and 2024, the review examined the characteristics,interrelations, and practical implications of various fundingmodels. A structured database search in accordance withPRISMA guidelines identified 24 eligible peer-reviewed articles,analysed using thematic synthesis. Findings show that fundingmodels often apply as hybrids shaped by governance structures,politics, economics, local needs, and policy priorities. The reviewhighlights dilemmas related to diagnostic incentives, tensionsbetween mainstream and special education funding, and the influenceof follow-up mechanisms on provision outcomes. Few studiesengaged stakeholders directly, especially pupils, despite widespreadsupport for inclusive and rights-based education frameworks.The conclusions drawn on the capability approach withintheories of justice and equity stress that funding should be managednot only through distribution but also through the real opportunitiesit enables learners, aligned with desired values. Greaterlocal follow-up and further research on the impact of fundingmodels on pupils’ outcomes are advocated.

The multi-level governance education system in Sweden is complex, comprising many actors. This study focuses on one of them, which is thus far very under-researched: the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR, in Swedish SKR). We examine SALAR’s policymaking through a critical policy analysis of its policy document on the topic of inclusive education (IE). We take a poststructural perspective utilizing the analytical approach What’s the Problem Represented to be? (WPR), developed by Bacchi and Goodwin. We have identified problem representations, assumptions, and absences in the policy. The key finding is that SALAR uses the concept of IE, even though it is only vaguely defined, to govern school staff into self-governance by appealing to their presumed inclination to do ‘right’ by children, while simultaneously directing focus away from structural factors for which SALAR’s members are responsible. From a wider perspective, this is important because it shows how policy on IE is particularly well suited for governing towards self-governance in education practices, due to its positive connotations, and ambiguous meaning, which can be filled with whatever content suits the policy actor’s agenda.

Forskningens övergripande syfte är att inkludera elevers röster i uppföljning och förståelse avskolutvecklingsprocessers kvalitet och effekter, vilket sällan gjorts i traditionellskolutvecklingsforskning där skolpersonalens erfarenheter dominerat. Det här presenteradepilotprojektet har utprovat metoder för att undersöka hur elevers upplevelser av kvalitet ilärar-elevrelationer (TSR) och självtillit i skolan (SSE) kan förändras i samband med flerårigarelationella skolutvecklingsinsatser på två år 6-9-skolor. Elevskattad TSR kvalitet och SSE är tvådimensioner som i internationell forskning uppvisat tydliga samband till både eleversvälmående och skolresultat (Hattie, 2009; 2018). De utgör konkreta aspekter av eleversskolupplevelser som skolans personal tillsammans har stora möjligheter att påverka varje dag,genom utvecklade kollektiva handlingar. Pilotprojektets syfte har varit att utveckla och testametodik och samarbetsformer med skolor kring insamling av elevdata. Genom att samla inelevers röster om skolerfarenheter och lärar-elevrelationskvalitet syftar forskningen långsiktigttill att bidra med insikter som kan förbättra skolans undervisningspraktik och skapa merinkluderande skolor.

This article explores how provision of educational support is influenced by tensions between organisational and professional logics in two Swedish lower secondary schools. Based on extensive fieldwork over three academic semesters, including interviews and observations, findings make visible how the dominance of organisational logics hinder equitable provision of educational support. Findings are analysed with the theoretical framework of organisational and professional logics, using the concepts of time poverty, ethical stress, and empaperment to highlight the implications of the tensions between organisational and professional logics. Documentation is made instrumental for purposes of accountability rather than enhanced teaching, leading teachers to spend time on reporting tasks they have a hard time making meaningful. In response, school staff simplify or defer tasks, which can result in illusional support – support that is documented but not meaningfully enacted. This aggravates ethical stress and time poverty at the same time as it undermines equitable access to educational support, particularly disadvantaging pupils from migrated families. The concluding discussion addresses that the dominance of organisational logics compromises both educational equity and professional practice, and that the domination of organisational logics – if persistent – can mitigate efforts or reforms intended to improve the situation for teachers and pupils in schools.

Pupils identified with special educational needs (SEN) have historically been, and continue to be, across the world's education systems at increased risk of marginalization, exclusion and segregation. Two crucial issues, in relation to pupils with SEN and their educational placement, concern what proportion of the total pupil population is identified as pupils with SEN, as well as what proportion of these pupils are placed in an inclusive setting together with their peers of the same age. The aim of this contribution is to see how these two issues have developed over time within and between countries across Europe. To this end, comprehensive compiled national education statistics covering 35 European countries and approximately 85 million pupils at 5 different points in time between 2012-2020 have been used. Findings indicate that the overall tendency over time is that there in most countries is a trend of increased identification rates of SEN pupils. Findings also show that in all countries, and stable over time, about two-thirds of the pupils identified with SEN are boys, while about one-third are girls, meaning that for every girl identified with SEN, there are two boys identified with SEN. Finally, it can be noted that in a significantly larger group of countries there is an increase in the proportion of pupils identified with SEN who are placed in an inclusive setting than vice versa.

Background: Teachers constitute an occupational group experiencing high levels of stress and with high sick-leave rates. Therefore, examining potentially protective factors is important. While prior research has mainly focused on the link between teachers’ own experiences of their work environment and stress-related outcomes, it is also possible that colleagues’ perception of the work environment and their possibilities for dealing with work-related stress contribute to influencing individual teachers’ stress. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how teachers’ reports of high job strain (i.e. high demands and low control) and sense of coherence (SOc), as well as the concentration of colleagues reporting high strain and high SOc, were associated with perceived stress and depressed mood. Methods: The data were derived from the Stockholm Teacher Survey, with information from two cross-sectional web surveys performed in 2014 and in 2016 (N=2732 teachers in 205 school units). Two-level random intercept linear regression models were performed. Results: High job strain at the individual level was associated with higher levels of perceived stress and depressed mood, but less so for individuals with high SOc. furthermore, a greater proportion of colleagues reporting high SOc was associated with lower levels of perceived stress and depressed mood at the individual level. Conclusions: High SOC may be protective against work-related stress among teachers. Additionally, the proportion of colleagues reporting high SOC was related to less individual stress, suggesting a protective effect of school-level collective SOC.

Genom bokens diskussion av och perspektiv på kvalitet och innebörder i skolverksamheter, ges läsarna av Specialpedagogik, pluralism och sociala utvägar i gymnasieskolans verksamheter möjligheter att genom samlade slutsatser och reflexionsavsnitt i texten, tolka och diskutera skeenden på gymnasiet i nutid med samhällsutvecklingen som backspegel. Övergripande fokus gäller rättigheten, värdet och känslan av att uppleva sig tillhöra en gemenskap.

Med hjälp av nutida och historiska nedslag i forskning lotsas läsaren in i analyser av i skolsammanhang obearbetade tankebanor. Boken kan på så sätt fungera pedagogiskt och socialt idéskapande: Den stimulerar till diskussion, eftertanke och handling för framtida skolverksamheter. Härmed ges, framhåller författarna, både studerande och lärare förutsättningar att formulera goda argument och utvägar för att agera insiktsfullt i sin yrkesvardag.

It is a well-known fact that family background characteristics affect school achievement, and according to Swedish law, school should play a compensatory role to outweigh such differences. Previous research has demonstrated that a strong school ethos is associated with higher student achievement, but whether school ethos can play a compensatory role for family background has not been investigated to the same extent. This study examines whether the predictive capacity of students’ family background on school achievement is moderated by school ethos. Data were derived from 9,349 ninth grade students (15–16 years) and 2,176 teachers in 159 school units in Stockholm. Multilevel linear regression analyses showed that family background characteristics, as well as school ethos, were associated with student achievement. School ethos did not, however, moderate the association between family background and school achievement. The results suggest that school ethos does not play a compensatory role, but rather, promotes school achievement for all students alike.