Students’ Voices: How Does Education in Iceland Prepare Young Disabled People for Adulthood?

Abstract

This paper is based on one part of an extensive research project, conducted in 1998 Á/2002, into young disabled adults in Iceland who have grown up with the ideology of integration and inclusion enshrined in law. This is a qualitative study of the experience of being a young disabled adult (16 Á/24 years old) in Icelandic upper-secondary schools, university or equivalent educational settings, in the job market and in society. Attention is focussed on the young people's experiences of schooling in compulsory and upper-secondary schools, general education schools and classes, special schools, and in special classes. The study looks at how the structure and practice of the educational environment, including the organization of teaching, learning and evaluation, and students experiences of participation in school community life, hinder or promote their full active participation in school. This paper also discusses to what extent the young people's experiences of schooling prepare them for adulthood. The main conclusion indicates that schooling is a powerful agent for placing these young people on vastly different tracks, independent of their disability labels, either on a track that leads them to an interdependent adulthood or on a track within a special world for ''eternal children''.

School experiences of pupils with physical impairments over time

“…An 18 year old said: '[I wish] the general education kids would speak to the special education kids and get to know them'. This lack of mix among general and special education pupils is well documented elsewhere, such as in Bjarnason's (2005) study of Icelandic secondary school pupils.…”

Transforming positive risk-taking practices: the possibilities of creativity and resilience in learning disability contexts

“…Flewitt and Nind (2007) found parents of young children choosing to combine special and inclusive preschool options as a kind of insurance, wanting the best of both worlds, not wishing to risk just one kind of experience or setting for their child. In an exploration of disabled youths' experiences of education in Iceland, Bjarnason (2001) found that some had chosen to move from mainstream to special education to escape bullying. Their preference for a safer, protective environment often came at a price however, in terms of experiencing an undemanding educational experience.…”

Factors of importance in the world of work for young people with intellectual disabilities

“…The articles from Iceland (Bjarnason 2005) and Sweden (Szö nyi 2005) discuss the role of the special school in a different way. It is claimed in these articles that the special school can be seen as a pointer to a future place in society for young people with ID.…”

“…Szö nyi argues that attending special school can involve several different implications that can lead either to participation or to exclusion. Bjarnason (2005) discusses how inclusive and exclusive processes simultaneously influence the pupils' learning, participation and self-image; processes which affect every disabled pupil's chances of having a choice. Bjarnason argues that the school, very powerfully and regardless of type of functional impairment, leads its young pupils into two different paths.…”