Exploring Day Center Activities in Norway: How do Employees Facilitate Participation for Workers with Intellectual Disabilities through Interaction and Social Support? An Ethnographic Study

Abstract

Many people with intellectual disabilities in Norway attend municipal day centers where they engage in activities and work-tasks with support from staff. The purpose of day centers is to offer meaningful activities for individuals who are not included in ordinary work. Little research has been done on day centers, and we have limited knowledge of which social and cultural norms apply in such a sheltered context. This article focuses on how employees facilitated the participation of workers with intellectual disabilities through social support and in interaction. This study has a qualitative ethnographic design. Data were collected through participatory observation and interviews and analyzed thematically. We found that the participants alternated between roles and frames of interaction: a work frame and a care frame. Each frame had different norms for interaction and role performance. This study adds to our knowledge about day centers for people with intellectual disabilities.

The White Cane: An Ethnographic Account on the Widespread Ambivalence Amongst Visually Impaired Towards an Iconic Aid

“…Belonging to the norm involves the privilege of being invisible in the face of others. Conversely, if you are situated outside the norm this involves a corresponding degree of, usually, negative visibility (Alcoff 2006;Al-Saji 2014;Kanuha 1999;Langemyhr et al 2023).…”

“…Passing is an overall concept used for discussing these deliberate strategies in relation to one's surroundings. If carried out successfully, such operations will let the individual escape the adverse associations that are evoked by the stereotype (Bäckman 2009;Kanuha 1999;Langemyhr et al 2023;Majaj 1994).…”