Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries

Natallia Bahdanovich Hanssen is a professor in special needs education at Nord University in Bodø, Norway. Her research interests include special needs education, inclusive education, comparative studies, developmental language disorders, music and special educational needs practices.Heidi Harju-Luukkainen (University of Jyväskylä and Nord University) holds a Ph.D. in education, special education teacher qualification, and a qualification in leadership and management from Finland. She has published more than 270 international books, journal articles, and reports as well as worked on more than 40 projects globally. Her research areas are special needs education, early childhood education, justice in education, and international student assessments.Christel Sundqvist is an associate professor and senior university lecturer in special needs education at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. Her research interests include inclusive education with a special focus on the special education teacher's professional role, multi-professional collaboration, and consultation in special needs education.

'If you are looking for a book that provides insights into the challenges faced by immigrant students with special education needs in the Nordic countries, and the strategies employed by the educational systems to address these challenges, then go no further. "Inclusion and Special Education Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries" edited by Hanssen, Harju-Luukkainen and Sundqvist is the book that you cannot miss. The authors in this book draw on their extensive expert research and real-world examples to demonstrate the importance of inclusive and equitable education practices for immigrant students. The book offers both policy examples and practical advice on how schools and educators can support students, including suggestions for effective teacher training, collaboration with parents and communities.'Professor Sivanes Phillipson Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Education, School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education, Swinburne University of Technology 'This timely volume provides current, research-informed portraits of inclusive education for immigrant children and students across different grade levels, instructional settings and areas of challenge. Each chapter resonates with the voices of multilingual students and puts forth school-based practices and system level policies that provide a road map towards removing barriers and optimizing the educational experiences for and the wellbeing of these students. Researchers, policy-makers and practitioners will welcome this very informative guide.'Cristina Sánchez-López, Paridad Education Consulting and DePaul University, Chicago

• 1. Introduction to Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries; 2. Towards inclusive language education for immigrant students in Norwegian schools: a translanguaging-driven perspective; 3. Inclusion of Newly Arrived Migrant Students in Norwegian Schools: An Investigation of Different Introductory Models for Language Learning and Inclusion; 4. Assessing developmental language disorder in bilingual immigrant children: The case of morphological knowledge and executive functions; 5. “Then we had to analyse a picture” - blind immigrant student in upper secondary school; 6. Transformative leadership for inclusion and special needs education for immigrant students; 7. At the intersection of ethnicity and special educational needs. Findings from a longitudinal study in Finland ; 8. “First, you must speak good Finnish.” Adult immigrants’ descriptions of the actants supporting and hindering their inclusion in education and work in Finland; 9. Inclusion and special needs support for immigrant students in Finland; 10. Embodiment, creativity, and cultural sensitivity: including children’ productions and perspectives in the evaluation of their educational needs; 11. A scoping review on inclusion of immigrant children and families in Nordic Early Childhood Education; 12. The professional role of special needs educators in Sweden related to special support and development of learning environments for immigrant students; 13. Deaf, diverse and denied: Insights and challenges in responding to the educational and linguistic human rights of deaf immigrant students; 14. School(s) for all?: Inclusion, special education and multilingualism at the intersection of disability and migration in Sweden; 15. Teachers’ perspectives on additional support for immigrant students in Icelandic schools; 16. Inclusion and special needs education for immigrant students in the Nordic countries – What are the lessons?