Growing up with disability in Norway - children's participation in school and leisure time

1. Growing up with disability in Norway - children's participation in school and leisure time Professional Practice and Children’s Participation Research Conference, 20 April 2012 Christian Wendelborg Research leader, Diversityand Inclusion, NTNU Samfunnsforskning AS christian.wendelborg@samfunn.ntnu.no

2. Agenda • Growing up with disability in Norway • About the project • Background and setting • Participation in day-care and school life • Are disable children attending mainstream or segregated educational facilities? • Do disable children participate in ordinary classrooms together with their peers? • Do this change as the children grows older • Participation in leisure activities

3. Growing up with disability in Norway • Initiated in 1998 and still running • Professor Jan Tøssebro • Point of departure • Ideology and policy gradually changed from the 1960 and onwards • “Normalization”, “Integration” Deinstitutionalization” • Dismantling of special boarding schools • From centralised control approach to one of providing support within a family framework • Disabled children growing up after the 1990s were the first generation to grow up “after normalisation” • How is it to grow up for children with disabilities and their families “after normalisation”?

4. Participation • Participation on arenas • Presence at the same arenas as their peers • Participation in activities • Social participation • social dimension of inclusion, underlining the importance of positive social interaction; acceptance, the perception of acceptance, and social relationships/friendships

5. Participation with peers in school

6. Participation with peers in school

7. Participation with peers in school • Children with disabilities participate seldom with their peers at school • Children with disabilities often get their education elsewhere than their peers

8. Disable children's participation in social activities • Children with disabilities participate less in social activities with peers than other children • A decrease in social participation is especially pronounced during the transition to secondary school • Disable youth report that organized leisure activities is not important, this may reflect: • Social and physical barriers • Stereotypes and prejudice • Lack of knowledge • Youth participate through technology - but not all

9. Participation in leisure time is dependent of participation in school • Leisure activities are often organized and spring out of the school’s structure and framework • Participation in school is important for participation in leisure activities • Educational arrangements predict social participation in leisure time and loneliness • Present educational arrangements may hinder social participation with peers • Transportation to/from school • Excluded from making informal appointments on the way home • Children who are marginalized in school less peer contact outside of school, because there is an overlap in social relations in school and leisure time

10. Children's participation • Educational arrangements in regular schools may obstruct the opportunities children with disabilities have for participating and interacting socially during leisure time and may further have a negative impact on their perceived social acceptance and peer intimacy.