Jens Ineland

Logics and discourses in disability arts in Sweden: a neo‐institutional perspective

Theatre for and with people with intellectual disabilities has gradually become a more frequent and popular work arrangement within the municipal daily activities in Sweden. This article focuses on one of those theatres – Olla – and the aim is to analyse the institutional settings and normative environment surrounding the theatre and the way in which it relates to different institutional rules and expectations. Analytical implications will be drawn against neo‐institutional theory and will show how Olla expresses both an artistic and a therapeutical logic, and that legitimacy is dependent on a loosely coupled formal structure between process and product, art and therapy. These logics are formulated within two different discourses, which leave Olla balancing between being a normalisation project or disability art which puts emphasis on the celebration of difference.

Institutional Environments and Sub-Cultural Belonging: Theatre and Intellectual Disabilities

This article analyses a theatre, Olla, which has actors with intellectual disabilities.Using qualitative methods the aims are to analyse how Olla relates to institutional environmentsand to analyse ...

Disability, culture and normative environments : The art and therapy discourse in theatre projects within the disability area

Swedish disability policy is guided by normative principles such as influence, participation and self determination. One way of practicing the policy is to create social settings conductive to the ...

Logics and ambivalence professional dilemmas during implementation of an inclusive education practice

Although inclusion has been a value set forth in international policy arenas and a focus for school development research indicate the problems in establishing more inclusive practices. Although teachers may favor an inclusive model of education, they may experience difficulties in the implementation of inclusive practices. The aim of this article is to describe and analyze the professional experiences of a policy-driven, top-down-initiated inclusive practice in a municipally in northern Sweden. The empirical data is based on qualitative interviews with four teachers, two from special school and two from compulsory school. The result show a professional ambivalence in relation to introduction and information, cooperation and views on inclusion. The results are analyzed from an institutional viewpoint and point out that two institutional logics are apparent in the study. On the on hand an educational logic, which is formal/ideological and contains norms and values connected to ideological ideals such as normality, equality, and inclusion. On the other hand, a social logic, which was, not informal, but vague and pragmatic were differentiation and disability were key aspects. Consequently, important inter-professional aspects during an implementation process, such as information, cooperation, and views of inclusion, were characterized by ambivalence. To conclude, the article add to the discussion of challenges – administrative, organizational, practical – in implementing new discursive practices within inclusive education as norms and values, routines, and rituals are not easily changed, regardless of political rhetoric.

Knowing, being or doing? : A comparative study on human service professionals' perceptions of quality in day-to-day encounters with clients and students with intellectual disabilities

What does it mean to decide, act and behave in a professional manner towards people with intellectual disabilities? This article analyses how professionals from three welfare organizations describe quality in daily encounters with people with intellectual disabilities. Four hundred and twenty-one respondents participated in the study. Our empirical data consisted of written excerpts exclusively. Findings revealed that quality in encounters with people with intellectual disabilities was associated with personal attributes, pertinent knowledge, professional actions and ideological awareness. Findings also show differences in responses, both quantitatively (frequency) and qualitatively (content), which seem to be associated with organization. This reflects that human service organizations, as normative environments, underpin ideas about relevance and appropriateness in day-to-day situations, forming actions and perceptions among its members. Our conclusion is that organizational context needs to be considered to enhance our knowledge on how different categories of professionals view quality and moral worth when working with people with intellectual disabilities.

Sources of job satisfaction in intellectual disability services: A comparative analysis of experiences among human service professionals in schools, social services, and public health care in Sweden

ABSTRACT Background: The research aim of this study was to analyse aspects of job satisfaction in daily work with people with intellectual disability (ID) in schools, social services and health care. Method: With a comparative approach we collected data via a digital questionnaire with in total 333 respondents. The empirical material was analysed through a thematic content analysis. Results: The result showed that perceptions of job satisfaction could be differentiated into five typological categories: (1) the target group; (2) social rewards; (3) social relations; (4) professional core mission; and (5) results and outcomes. The findings also showed apparent differences in responses, both in terms of frequency and content, which seem to be associated with the respondents’ organisational affiliations. Conclusion: This study suggests that differences in experiences seem to be associated with work assignments, professional identities and organisational affiliation.

Inclusive education : logics and ambivalence

Aim: To describe and explain the use of I-Poems in the interpretation ofinterviews with people with intellectual disability (ID) attending higher leveleducation. Method: This hermeneutic phenomenological study involvedspeaking to 27 people. The average time of each interview was 15 mins andparticipants required multiple prompts. Data analysis involved adapting the fivestep interpretation and analysis method recommended by Crist and Tanner withan additional step applied for interpretation of each interview. The guidance forthis additional step was taken from a method described by Gilligan et al. andincluded the use of I -Poems. The I-Poem is constructed by underlining eachtime the participant uses the first person “I” during the interview and byincluding the verb and any seemingly important words a phrase is created.Placing each phrase on a new line in the sequence in which they appear duringthe interview the poem develops. Results: I-Poems created by tracing how eachparticipant refers to themselves throughout the interview contribute significantlyto the analysis. Conclusion: Using examples of I-Poems this paper draws theconclusion that this step in the analysis draws attention to the participants withID’s own voices and offers a unique basis for interpretation