sou · GZB38 · 2012-01-01 00:00:00 — Another reason may be the deterioration in the social situation for school students as they get older. The general increase in the percentage of students in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities may also have to do with the responsibility for it having been transferred from the county councils to the municipalities, a change fully implemented in 1996, and an economic downturn during the 1990s which led to schools in general not receiving adequate resources. The fact that it has also become more common to examine and diagnose students may also be significant, since an examination can provide an objective basis for placing the student in upper secon- dary education for pupils with learning disabilities. Finally, it is difficult to examine students newly arrived from outside , which implies some uncertainty in how significant the increased proportion of students with foreign backgrounds is for the trend in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities. Employment is considerably lower among 20-30 year-olds with general learning difficulties2 than among other young people. 2 People coming from special schools and people that occupational psychologists at the class as having learning difficulties after tests. difficult to find reliable data on how students from upper secon- dary schools for pupils with learning disabilities get on later in life. According to the Career Guidance Officers in Schools for Pupils with Learning Disabilities and Special Schools, the percentage of employees among students who have graduated from national programmes or equivalent edu- cation programmes at upper secondary schools for pupils with learning disabilities fell dramatically from the end of the 1970s to 2006; without special support measures, only a small percentage of them now have employment. statistics from 1998 and onwards on the proportion of young job- seekers who have found work indicate that the trend is not unique for young people with general learning difficulties. On the other hand, the proportion in employment is considerably less for these people than for other young people. Furthermore, the difference between the groups increases when times are prosperous. Challenges for the future The lessons learned from current upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities highlight the challenges facing the future system. It shall equip students for a meaningful adult life at work, at home and in leisure time and in my opinion also lay the foundations for further learning. The knowledge and skills acquired at upper secondary with learning dis- abilities must give the students a better chance of finding work. The education shall also facilitate the students transition into adulthood and aid their personal development. The demands on the students must be realistic yet also challenging to give them an idea of their own potential and limitations. Prioritising and challenging the students knowledge develop- ment must be a clear starting-point for upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities. For this to be possible, the teachers need proficient subject knowledge combined with skills in teaching pupils with learning disabilities. Such a teachers authori- sation should be linked to an undergraduate programme at the right level for this form of education. The functional integration of premises is a necessary but far from sufficient prerequisite in order to achieve more inclusive edu- cation for students with learning disabilities. Furthermore, a man- agement organisation is needed that can facilitate inclusive educa- tion in which real meetings between students take place in the edu- cation context. For this to be possible, greater collaboration between upper secondary schools and upper secondary schools for pupils with learning disabilities is required. So as not to create the wrong expectations among students and parents, upper secondary schools for pupils with learning disabili- ties must make it clear that they offer an education aimed at stu- dents with learning disabilities and what this education can lead to. Greater flexibility between upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities and upper secondary education is one of the ambitions behind the inquirys proposals. However, greater flexibility within the upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities system itself is equally important so that all students are given the chance to achieve as much as possible in their studies. My ambition is also that my proposals will help bring greater clarity to the students educational goals and make it easier to monitor their progress towards them. The aim of future upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities (Section 4.1) The provisions on the aim of education currently differ between upper secondary education and upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities. The provisions governing the latter state that the education shall be tailored to each individual stu- dents prerequisites and shall correspond to the education provided in upper secondary education as far as possible. It is perfectly clear that the aim of upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities and of upper secondary education shall be expressed in terms of what the education shall contribute to, i.e. what the stu- dents will derive from it, not how the system shall be designed. Furthermore, the wording used to express the aim of upper secon- dary education for pupils with learning disabilities makes no men- tion of their further studies. I therefore propose an aim for upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities that is in close concordance with the aim for upper secondary education in general: Upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities shall give students a tailored education that provides a good basis for working life and further studies, for personal development and for participation in society. The education shall be designed so that it promotes social interaction and develops the students ability to acquire, deepen and apply knowledge both independently and together with others. Upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities shall in principle build on the knowledge the students have acquired in compulsory education for pupils with learning disabilities or similar form of education. As a consequence of this, I propose that the aim of compulsory education for pupils with learning disabilities be adapted to the aim of compulsory school in a similar way. The future structure of upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities (Section 4.1) I propose that upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities shall consist of national programmes and a training programme for students who are unable to cope with a national programme. The following nine national programmes are pro- posed: Administration, trade and product management Property, plant and construction Vehicle care and transport Hotel, restaurant and bakery Health, care and social services , land and animals This adapted programme structure is based on my assessment that it is more important to harmonise the educational content with upper secondary education than the form. The number of students in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities is very small compared to upper secondary education, which means that the number of programmes must also be limited. The pro- posed structure does enable a broader range of educational content to be offered to students with learning disabilities than currently is the case, by making it possible to base a national programme on elements from several different national upper secondary school programmes. It also enables all relevant parts of upper secondary education to be adapted to upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities. The proposal includes both more and less extensive elements from all programmes in the new, reformed upper secondary education system, which gives the students a better chance of choosing an education that suits them. It should also be a future ambition to ensure that as many stu- dents as possible find a suitable vocational programme in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities that can lead to employment after they have completed their studies. Despite this, it is proposed that a civics and languages programme be established. Upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities should also offer choices for students who are inter- ested in civics, have an interest in languages and communication or who need time to decide what they wish to do professionally after leaving school. Youngsters with learning disabilities should not need to do more advanced planning than other young people. Similar to others, they should also, where necessary, be able to supplement their education when they are adults. Through work- place learning, students on this programme should also have the opportunity to test different career options. Students on the pro- gramme shall have the opportunity to transfer to one of the voca- tionally oriented programmes during their studies should they so wish. I further propose that the national programmes be divided into nationally established specialisations as they are in upper secondary education. This represents a change compared to the current provi- sions on upper secondary education for pupils with learning dis- abilities. Nationally established specialisations help to clarify the content of upper secondary education for pupils with learning dis- abilities enabling students to make informed study choices and providing potential employers with more information. A predict- able structure also facilitates cooperation between different school governing bodies when planning the range of educational pro- grammes available and between upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities and upper secondary education. It shall however be possible to provide specially designed alter- native programmes, assessed and approved by the for Education. The proposed national pro- grammes shall however offer such a high degree of flexibility to render the need for specially designed alternative programmes less necessary. for Education shall also assure the quality and decide on locally initiated courses. It is also proposed that the structure of the national pro- grammes also be harmonised with the structure of the national programmes in the new upper secondary education system. There are to be common subjects for all the national programmes in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities, i.e. Swedish or Swedish as a second language; English; Mathematics; Sport and health; Arts; History; Civics; Religion; and Nature and the environment. Furthermore, there shall be both common sub- jects for each programme that give it its character and subjects common to each specialisation within the programme. In addition, it shall be possible to do more in-depth or broader programme studies and to study an individual choice. An upper secondary with learning disabilities project is also proposed as an element of the national programmes. The proposal for new upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities offers a substantially greater range of speciali- sations and in-depth studies than previously, giving students more options to choose based on interest and aptitude. About thirty of the sixty upper secondary school specialisations shall be adapted under the proposal. There may still be a need for a student to be able to read courses at upper secondary school. The formal condi- tions for such cooperation between the two forms of school are already in place, however. Under the new Swedish Education Act (2010:800), it will be possible for a student at an upper secondary with learning disabilities to read all types of courses at upper secondary school. It is essential that the future programme structure for upper secondary with learning disabilities does not dis- inclusive teaching models, where for example a group of students registered at an upper secondary with learning disabilities attend a class at upper secondary school. In my opinion, however, the fact that the programme structures of the two forms of education are different does not constitute a problem since the concordance between them at the specialisation level pro- vides plenty of scope for the of inclusive models. It is proposed that a training programme be established for stu- dents who are unable to cope with a national programme. This programme, which would replace todays individual programmes, should still encourage the student to transfer to a national pro- gramme at a later date. A student who has completed a year on the training programme shall thus have the option of reading four years on a national programme. However, the current division within the individual programme into vocational training and activity training shall be removed. This is because the dividing-line between vocational training and activity training is in many cases difficult to distinguish and because voca- tional training has been shown to vary considerably in nature from one school to the next. The concepts of vocational and activity training are also considered to lack relevance. Vocational training does not prepare the student for future professional life and is therefore seen as a form of false marketing. What kind of activity activity training is aimed at is very unclear. It is also proposed that the wording on meeting the students special educational needs be omitted. The new upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities system shall be so flexible and provide so much scope for individual tailoring of the education to render provisions unnecessary. Under the proposal, the training programme at schools for pupils with learning disabilities shall consist of the following sub- ject areas: Arts; Domestic and consumer science; Sport and health; Nature and the environment; Civics; and Language and communi- cation. The subject areas shall follow on from the training school syllabuses used in compulsory schools for pupils with learning dis- abilities. The variation in the prerequisites of individual students will also be substantial within the training programme. I therefore propose that the knowledge requirements for the subject areas in the train- ing programme shall be on two levels - one level for basic knowl- edge and one for in-depth knowledge. Credits and course breakdown The guaranteed teaching time in upper secondary with learning disabilities shall continue to be 3 600 hours over four years. This shall apply for both national programmes and for the training programme. It shall be possible in certain cases for stu- dents on a national programme to take an additional year to com- plete their studies. As regards the national programmes, it is proposed that a cred- its system of 3 000 upper secondary with learning disabilities credits replace the current timetable. The credits system shall specify the extent of the course content in numbers of credits. A subject could consist of several courses, with grades being set after each completed course. A breakdown of the national pro- grammes in upper secondary with learning dis- abilities into credits and courses will make it easier to meet each student on his or her level and incorporate a clear progression in the education. The decision to have a total of 3 000 credits is mainly because I feel that it must be made clear that there is no connection between time and goal fulfilment for upper secondary students with learn- ing disabilities. Furthermore, it is unadvisable to use the same number of credits as for upper secondary school, which could easily substantiate the misconception that upper secondary with learning disabilities leads to the same education as upper secondary school. A completely random number of credits is therefore preferable. The students individual study plan shall make it clear that he or she is following an adapted course programme (Section 4.3) The provision on individual study plans in the Swedish Education Act (2010:800) shall be supplemented by a provision stipulating that in the individual study plan, the principal shall decide whether a student shall follow an adapted course programme. For students on a national programme, such a decision could mean that the extent of their education will be limited in relation to a full pro- gramme with regard to the number of upper secondary credits and courses. The future upper secondary education system for pupils with learning disabilities shall be flexible enough to allow a student either to be admitted to the training programme and read courses on a national programme or be admitted to a national programme and read certain subject areas on the training programme. This must be determined on a case-to-case basis and be based on where most of the students education takes place. This type of adapted course programme shall also be decided and highlighted in the stu- dents individual study plan. Diploma documentation (Section 4.4) In my opinion, it is more important that every student graduating from an upper secondary national programme for pupils with learning disabilities leaves with comprehensive documentation describing his or her education than just some students receiving a special diploma certificate. Such documentation can for example facilitate the transition from school to working life. The docu- mentation is equally important regardless of how much of the edu- cation programme the student has completed. It is proposed therefore that such comprehensive documentation be introduced in the form of a diploma document for all students attending upper secondary school national programmes for pupils with learning disabilities. Diploma documents shall also be issued to students on the training programme on request. for Education will be given the task to develop guidelines regarding the content and wording of diploma documents. The diploma document shall stipulate whether the student has fulfilled the objectives for upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities: attaining at least 2 500 out of 3 000 cred- its; achieved a pass grade for their school project; and achieved passes at Swedish/Swedish as a second language and mathematics on courses equivalent to at least 100 credits in each subject respec- tively. Upper secondary school grades shall be validated so that it can be assessed whether or not the student has achieved stipulated upper secondary school diploma objectives for pupils with learning disabilities. Workplace learning (Section 4.5) Concrete working life experience is important for students at upper secondary with learning disabilities. Knowledge and skills must be trained and consolidated in the form of real-life working tasks at the workplace. education (APU) shall be replaced by at least 22 weeks of workplace learning (APL). It is desirable to implement workplace learning within the programme being studied by the student but it should be possible to do workplace learning within another programme. All students on upper secondary school national programmes for pupils with learning disabilities benefit from working life experience, which is why workplace learning shall be offered on all national programmes, including the arts pro- gramme and the civics and languages programme. Workplace learning shall cover not only vocational knowledge but also under- standing workplace culture and being part of a work community. It shall also be possible to offer practical experience on the training programme that is to replace the individual programme. The right to upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities (Section 5.1) It is vital that students accepted onto upper secondary with learning disabilities belong to the target group for this form of schooling. The consequences for students who are recruited on the wrong grounds can be serious and lifelong in that they may not be given sufficient challenges and their chances of going on to study further or accessing the labour market may be restricted. It is proposed therefore that the provisions shall make it clear that the right of a student who has graduated from compul- sory with learning disabilities to attend an upper secondary with learning disabilities shall apply only on condition that the student belongs to the target group, i.e. has learning disabilities or has a significant and lasting mental dis- ability due to a brain injury, caused by external violence or bodily disease. Staff in compulsory schools for pupils with learning disabilities and upper secondary schools for pupils with learning disabilities shall also be duty-bound to report signs that a student does not belong to the target group to the principal. In such cases, the prin- cipal is obliged to report this to the students home municipality which in turn must examine the matter forthwith. Should this examination show that the student does not belong to the target group for with learning disabilities, he or she shall be transferred to compulsory school or upper secondary school. The home municipality shall in such cases be obliged to take the measures necessary to facilitate the students transfer. As a consequence of this, it is proposed that the students right to complete a commenced upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities within four years shall apply only to stu- dents who belong to the target group. Applications and selection (Section 5.2) In order for students at upper secondary with learning disabilities to be able to benefit from the many different study courses offered by the future system for upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities, they must have the opportunity to choose their preferred programme. I therefore pro- pose that the student shall apply to a national programme in the same way as students applying to upper secondary school do. It shall also be possible to apply to the training programme. If the number of places on a national programme is fewer than the number of applicants, priority shall be given based on an assessment of the students suitability for the programme. The Government or authority appointed by the Government shall be allowed to issue regulations governing selection to national pro- grammes in upper secondary with learning dis- abilities. A student who applies to a training programme shall be admit- ted to such a programme if the home municipality, after consulta- tion with the student and his or her guardian, deems the student incapable of following a national programme. Otherwise, the home municipality shall accept the student onto a national programme and the student shall be given the opportunity to apply to such a programme. The preparations prior to a student applying to upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities shall start in good time. It is vital that students receive tailored study and career guidance that enables them to form an opinion about the various study courses open to them and that consultation takes place with the students guardian. Increased student influence when choosing programmes and being accepted onto upper secondary school induction programmes (Sections 5.3 and 5.4) Under the new Education Act (2010:800), the home municipality is responsible for offering students from compulsory with learning disabilities vocation induction and an individ- ual alternative at upper secondary school if they want to pursue such an education and the municipality deems them to have the necessary prerequisites to do so.