ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we examine the intersection of special needs education (SNE) and education for immigrant students in Finland. The focus is on how the Finnish education system approaches the intersection of SNE and inclusion. Immigrant students can receive several kinds of support for furthering inclusion at school and strengthening their identity. They receive support in Finnish or Swedish, their mother tongue and their own religion. Educational support in Finland is based on a three-tiered support system. The goal is for students receiving SNE to be included in general classes. Having migration experience is not officially a reason for SNE support, but international research has shown that immigrant students are overrepresented in SNE and falsely diagnosed with learning disabilities when they struggle to manage the language of instruction and assessment. The same observations have been made in Finland, and there are indications that Finland fails in supporting the learning of the school language. Stemming from these notions, we discuss how the current system supports immigrant students. How do the current structures of SNE take into consideration the diversity of immigrant students?
