Swedisch schools emphasize that school is for all and inclusive, although the concept of inclusion is not mentioned in the curricula or school act (SFS, 210:800). The right to adaptions and accessibility for students with disabilities has been re-enforced in the Discrimination act since 2009, as accessibility is stated as a legal right for students with disabilities (SFS, 2008:567). Also, the UNs convention of the rights of the child is law in Sweden. In order to develop knowledge about what inclusive materials is, a conference was arranged on the topic of inclusion in cooperation with Örebro University. Various teachers and scientists attended and responded to a survey on inclusive materials. The results mirror what is stipulated in the governing documents and how inclusion is displayed at the participating school, Domsjöskolan. Findings indicate that if a material will be inclusive or not, depends on the teacher’s knowledge about it, their relation to the student at hand, and the learning environment, methods, approaches, the use of compensatory tools, issues of access, and the use of technology. The criteria for evaluating materials, that was developed in Germany, has been further adjusted in cooperation with the participating school in order to incorporate aspects to help reflect on the accessibility of the learning environment and subject specific concepts and elements in mathematics. An inventory of materials used and investigation regarding what inclusion might mean and how it is organized has also been initiated on the participating school and municipality. In addition, an overview of inclusionary materials in mathematics is under production.
References
SFS (2010:800). Skollag. [Education Act]. Department of Education, Sweden. SFS (2008:567). Diskrimineringslag [Discrimination act]. Ministry of Culture.
Symposium: Quality criteria for inclusive learning and teaching materials. International comparative reflections.