Using the theory of practice architectures to articulate special educational needs practices in Belarusian and Norwegian preschools

The study investigates and compares special needs education practices for children with developmental language disorders (DLD) in Norway and Belarus. The research question is: What type of special needs education practices for children with developmental language disorders do the kindergartens have?

The results show that the special needs education practice in the two countries is different. In Belarus, the practice is described as established and stable, and the employees’ perception of it is positive. In Norway, the organisation of special needs education practice is perceived as more vague, unstable and difficult to identify. The Norwegian kindergarten staff found it difficult. The researcher also points out that the practice in Belarus can be perceived as fixed, static and incapable of transformation. This can reduce the employees’ professional autonomy and therefore leave no room for criticism or new ideas. In Norway, where the practice has gone from being specialised to becoming more a part of general education, employees are given more room to make individual choices. However, the researcher believes that this autonomy may lead to a lack of common understanding of what special needs education practice is and how it should be implemented. This can lead to an unsystematic variation of individual special needs education practices that are seen as challenging by kindergarten staff.

The data material is taken from two cases – one from Norway and one from Belarus. Through semi-structured interviews with five kindergarten employees from each country, the researcher wanted to find out how the staff described, perceived and performed special needs education practices related to the children. In addition, the data material consists of video observations of special needs education activities in the kindergartens.

Hanssen, N. B. (2020). “Using the theory of practice architectures to articulate special educational needs practices in Belarusian and Norwegian preschools”. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 35(2):188-202.