Equity in education is a widely shared objective in Europe; however,its realisation in practice remains complex, with resource allocationas a central determinant. This systematic review reports on thecurrent state of empirical research concerning funding models forspecial education from an equity perspective. Drawing on studiespublished between 2006 and 2024, the review examined the characteristics,interrelations, and practical implications of various fundingmodels. A structured database search in accordance withPRISMA guidelines identified 24 eligible peer-reviewed articles,analysed using thematic synthesis. Findings show that fundingmodels often apply as hybrids shaped by governance structures,politics, economics, local needs, and policy priorities. The reviewhighlights dilemmas related to diagnostic incentives, tensionsbetween mainstream and special education funding, and the influenceof follow-up mechanisms on provision outcomes. Few studiesengaged stakeholders directly, especially pupils, despite widespreadsupport for inclusive and rights-based education frameworks.The conclusions drawn on the capability approach withintheories of justice and equity stress that funding should be managednot only through distribution but also through the real opportunitiesit enables learners, aligned with desired values. Greaterlocal follow-up and further research on the impact of fundingmodels on pupils’ outcomes are advocated.

The digitalisation of education has introduced new possibilities for inclusive teaching practices, particularly in supporting students with special educational needs (SEN). While digital tools have demonstrated potential to enhance learning outcomes and engagement for these students, the role of school leadership in fostering teachers’ digital competence remains underexplored. The aim of the study is to investigate the association between school leadership, as rated by teachers, and teachers’ self-reported digital competence in supporting students with SEN. To this end, cross-sectional data from 285 Swedish teachers enrolled in special education training programmes have been used. The data were collected through the SELFIE survey, a European Commission tool designed to assess schools’ digital capacity. A stepwise linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between perceived school leadership and teachers’ self-reported digital competence in supporting students with SEN, controlling for teacher collaboration, infrastructure and equipment, and demographic variables. The results show a consistent and significant positive relationship between school leadership and teachers’ digital competence, even when other factors are accounted for. Teacher collaboration also contributed positively, though to a lesser extent, while infrastructure and equipment and demographic variables showed no significant effect. The study contributes knowledge by showing that teachers’ digital competence development depends not only on individual efforts but also on organisational factors, such as supportive school leadership, highlighting the importance of recognising school leadership as vital alongside digital resources in schools. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted cautiously and not as evidence of causal relationships. These findings suggest that school leadership is important in enabling teachers to use digital technologies to support students with SEN, highlighting practical and policy implications for strengthening school leadership in developing teachers’ digital competence in supporting students with SEN.

Forskningens övergripande syfte är att inkludera elevers röster i uppföljning och förståelse avskolutvecklingsprocessers kvalitet och effekter, vilket sällan gjorts i traditionellskolutvecklingsforskning där skolpersonalens erfarenheter dominerat. Det här presenteradepilotprojektet har utprovat metoder för att undersöka hur elevers upplevelser av kvalitet ilärar-elevrelationer (TSR) och självtillit i skolan (SSE) kan förändras i samband med flerårigarelationella skolutvecklingsinsatser på två år 6-9-skolor. Elevskattad TSR kvalitet och SSE är tvådimensioner som i internationell forskning uppvisat tydliga samband till både eleversvälmående och skolresultat (Hattie, 2009; 2018). De utgör konkreta aspekter av eleversskolupplevelser som skolans personal tillsammans har stora möjligheter att påverka varje dag,genom utvecklade kollektiva handlingar. Pilotprojektets syfte har varit att utveckla och testametodik och samarbetsformer med skolor kring insamling av elevdata. Genom att samla inelevers röster om skolerfarenheter och lärar-elevrelationskvalitet syftar forskningen långsiktigttill att bidra med insikter som kan förbättra skolans undervisningspraktik och skapa merinkluderande skolor.

This article explores how provision of educational support is influenced by tensions between organisational and professional logics in two Swedish lower secondary schools. Based on extensive fieldwork over three academic semesters, including interviews and observations, findings make visible how the dominance of organisational logics hinder equitable provision of educational support. Findings are analysed with the theoretical framework of organisational and professional logics, using the concepts of time poverty, ethical stress, and empaperment to highlight the implications of the tensions between organisational and professional logics. Documentation is made instrumental for purposes of accountability rather than enhanced teaching, leading teachers to spend time on reporting tasks they have a hard time making meaningful. In response, school staff simplify or defer tasks, which can result in illusional support – support that is documented but not meaningfully enacted. This aggravates ethical stress and time poverty at the same time as it undermines equitable access to educational support, particularly disadvantaging pupils from migrated families. The concluding discussion addresses that the dominance of organisational logics compromises both educational equity and professional practice, and that the domination of organisational logics – if persistent – can mitigate efforts or reforms intended to improve the situation for teachers and pupils in schools.

The multi-level governance education system in Sweden is complex, comprising many actors. This study focuses on one of them, which is thus far very under-researched: the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR, in Swedish SKR). We examine SALAR’s policymaking through a critical policy analysis of its policy document on the topic of inclusive education (IE). We take a poststructural perspective utilizing the analytical approach What’s the Problem Represented to be? (WPR), developed by Bacchi and Goodwin. We have identified problem representations, assumptions, and absences in the policy. The key finding is that SALAR uses the concept of IE, even though it is only vaguely defined, to govern school staff into self-governance by appealing to their presumed inclination to do ‘right’ by children, while simultaneously directing focus away from structural factors for which SALAR’s members are responsible. From a wider perspective, this is important because it shows how policy on IE is particularly well suited for governing towards self-governance in education practices, due to its positive connotations, and ambiguous meaning, which can be filled with whatever content suits the policy actor’s agenda.