Special education in Norwegian early childhood education and care: a document analysis of special education assistance provided to children with language disorders

The study investigates what characterises the special needs education support given to children with language difficulties in ordinary Norwegian kindergartens. The research questions are:

1. What type of goals for children’s language development and learning have educational institutions established in the pedagogical documents related to the children?
2. What characterises the language interventions and special needs education support recommended by the Educational and Psychological Counselling Service (PPT), as well as the follow-up of these, as they appear in the children’s individual development plans and reports on special needs?

The study reveals that the objectives of the pedagogical documents are often general or absent, and that the recommended measures from the PPT are rarely adapted to the children’s individual language difficulties. This is further reflected in the children’s individual development plans. In addition, the findings suggest that there is a division of responsibility in the follow-up of the children, which results in the support services appearing fragmented. The study highlights the need for better collaboration between kindergarten and the PPT to ensure more holistic practice and follow-up of children with language difficulties.

The study is part of a longitudinal project that follows over 1000 children and their development from the ages of two to ten. The current study is based on four selected boys aged two to four years who were all referred to the PPT. All had language difficulties and received between one and four hours of special needs education support per week in the kindergarten. The study includes a document analysis of 71 pedagogical documents, including expert assessments and individual development plans related to the children. The researchers used hermeneutic analysis methods to interpret the content of the documents, and to identify how the goals and measures for the children’s language development were described and implemented in practice.

Joner, M. D., Reikerås, E., & Alvestad, M. (2022). Special education in Norwegian early childhood education and care: a document analysis of special education assistance provided to children with language disorders. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 38(5), 659–672.

Online year: 2022

Issue year: 2023

Review year: 2022