Aiming for (What) Capabilities? An Inquiry into School Policy for Pupils with Intellectual Disabilities

ABSTRACT

While entitled to education, the curriculum for pupils with intellectual disabilities (ID) remains unresolved. In a time of curriculum renewal, this study inquires into Norwegian school policy in the period 2014–2018 to evaluate this learner group’s course of study. Attentiveness to special education and curricular approach are discussed through content analysis of school policy documents. The findings show sparse special needs education guidelines and academic mainstreaming. Content related to developing pupils’ communication, practical and social skills may be marginalised, risking depriving pupils with ID of skills for adaptive functioning and flourishing. Applying capability as an evaluative lens, this study makes a normative contribution to discuss what to aim for in a school for all and suggests directions for course changes.

KEYWORDS:

• Intellectual disability
• curriculum
• policy
• aim
• purpose
• capabilities
• inclusion

Acknowledgements

This article began as a paper for the vibrant PhD course on Disability and Inclusion – Perspectives on Education for All at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. I wish to express gratitude to my supervisors Solveig M. Reindal, Sven Nilsen and Kari-Anne B. Næss, and also to Tine Sophie Prøitz for valuable discussions and comments on the manuscript. Thanks also to research asisstant Fredrik Johansson, and for valuable feedback from the research groups Inclusion and Diversity and Humanity Studies in Pedagogy at the University of Oslo. In addition, I greatly appreciate the anonymous reviewer’s comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Special needs education and/or special education.

2 The term “capability deprivation” is used in Young (2009).