Country information for Denmark - Teacher education for inclusive education

Special education legislation outlines the qualifications required from the educators and teachers involved. For teaching infants, teachers must have completed initial training as teachers or educators, as well as a special one-year course in special education at the Danish University of Education.

Teachers with specific course training provide special needs assistance in primary and lower-secondary school up to the tenth grade. Social educators with similar prerequisites may provide special needs assistance in pre-school classes. The same applies to special needs assistance in subjects or areas with co-ordinated education, pursuant to the Folkeskole Act.

Special education follows the basic principle that if the teacher is responsible for all the teaching of one or more pupils, they must have completed a course of education qualifying them for the given task. If teaching is a supplement to mainstream teaching in one or more subjects, there are no particular qualification requirements. It is not formal, but real qualifications that are important.