Special needs education and inclusion in Germany and Sweden

This article analyzes both the Swedish and the German school systems, focusing on the implementation of inclusive education. The structure of the two systems, the way the categorization processes work, the financing of inclusion as well as teaching models for the realization of inclusion within the classroom are explored. The analysis is built on steering documents and research articles. Although a systematic comparison is not possible, the analysis reveals a different understanding of how to support children with learning difficulties due to the traditions of the two school systems. The different ways of implementing inclusive education are linked to the categorization processes and financing models. In both countries, inclusive education requires cooperation between different professions. However, separation of children with special educational needs in form of special schools or special classes is still part of the reality in both countries. The findings of the analysis are discussed in this paper. (C) 2017 Association ALTER. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.