Special‐education Research in Sweden 1956‐1996

Abstract

The articles in this section cover special education, and education and professional expertise, which each represent one special research field within education, but cover research during the last few decades from only one of the Nordic countries. The special‐education article reviews research in Sweden, and from three periods, 1956‐1969, 1970‐1979, and 1980 and later. In selecting the studies referred to the author chose to concentrate on educational aspects within the research domain, rather than differentiated from more handicap‐research‐dominated studies. The author argues that the review cannot, therefore, be seen as a complete, rather it should be understood as a summary of some evident trends of during the periods covered. The extensive presentation ends with remarks on some of the most important theoretical and normative perspectives and aspects. The second article examines, from an educational viewpoint, the acquisition of professional expertise and it outlines emerging approaches to such research, particularly in Finland. The first part of the article briefly reviews how expertise has been conceptualized in recent research. The next section deals with the role of higher education in developing expertise from the constructivist perspective in research on learning, and the article that lines current challenges and alternatives for further educational research.