Students' Perspectives on Inclusive Education in Finland

ABSTRACT There is a need for longitudinal and systematic focus on the students' perspective on inclusive education in the field of educational research, especially in Finland. This study contributes to this research area by introducing students' perspectives on studying in inclusive classrooms. The participants were Finnish comprehensive school students from inclusive classrooms in years 5, 7 and 8. The method of empathy‐based stories (MEBS) was utilised in the data collection and resulted in 79 stories from the students. The stories were written based on two different frame stories related to studying in an inclusive classroom, and this data was analysed with thematic analysis. The results showed that students hoped for support for learning in a positive learning environment. A positive learning environment was often related to good discipline, group spirit and peer support, whereas negative aspects in the learning environment were identified as noise, bullying and lack of support. A teacher often played a key role, especially in situations where classroom management and support for learning were needed. The findings are further discussed in relation to the human rights‐based approach of inclusive education and previous research focusing on the student perspectives on inclusion.