This thesis explores the meaning of wellbeing for children with a disability in New Zealand, an area of social policy that has been largely unexamined. Focusing on the school environment, three questions are addressed: What does wellbeing mean for children with a disability? What factors influence it? Are current policy frameworks which address child wellbeing relevant to the wellbeing of children with a disability? The research involved qualitative data collection from nine purposively selected participants: children with a disability, their parents and key informants involved in service provision and policy development. A critical review of international and national literature on definitions of wellbeing and disability, and on existing data sources, is followed by a socio-demographic profile of children with a disability in New Zealand. Qualitative findings are interpreted in relation to current New Zealand social policy initiatives and frameworks - New Zealand's Agenda for Children, the Whole Child Approach and the Key Settings Model - as well as the theoretical perspectives of social solidarity, wellbeing, the ecological theory of human development and discourses of disability. Findings indicate that the concept of wellbeing as applied to all New Zealand children is also relevant to children with a disability. The difference however, lies in the factors which ultimately influence whether the various dimensions of wellbeing will actually be experienced by children with a disability. For these children, communication as a dimension of wellbeing for example, is influenced by language skill acquisition, which in turn depends upon allocation of appropriate and adequate resourcing of the child's learning environment. The conclusion drawn is that policy frameworks, principles and social indicators addressing child wellbeing, are inconsistently applied with regard to children with a disability. New Zealand's Agenda for Children which promotes an ecological approach to child wellbeing would benefit from further adaptation to reflect the needs of this specific child population. The notion of wellbeing for children with a disability needs further development for the purpose of knowledge building, and to ensure clearer articulation between processes of policy development, service provision, and resource allocation.

BACKGROUND Children and youth with intellectual disabilities have a right to participation in life just like any other children. AIM This study aims to explore the most influential factor on the participation of a child with intellectual disability and to compare the level of participation between children with ID from South Africa and China. To this day there is still insufficient information on what can influence the participation of children with intellectually disability and how to improve their attendance in everyday activities. METHOD A cross-sectional study using secondary data was conducted. The data was collected through the ‘Picture my participation’ tool that explores the self-perceptions of children with ID in everyday activities. Study participants were 191 children and youth from South Africa and China, ages 6 to 21, who have intellectual disabilities. A multiple linear regression was conducted to find an answer to the research questions. Data of this study was retrieved from the CHILD group at Jönköping University. RESULTS The findings of this study show that children with intellectual disabilities have a lower participation rate in social and community activities than in home activities. It shows that children who live in South Africa have a higher participation mean than children in China. Within China children who live in an urban area show higher participation than the children living in the rural area CONCLUSION The level of participation of children and youth with intellectual disabilities is highly influenced by the social environmental factors in the child’s life. Cultural contexts include the country, socio-economic status, poverty, and ethnicity. A child and his environment are all part of a greater cultural context.

The diploma thesis deals with the issue of education of children with disabilities from the point of view of their parents. The theoretical part focuses on basic concepts such as disability, specific types of disabilities such as mental disability, cerebral palsy, developmental dysphasia and autism spectrum disorders. The other chapters are focused on the familiarization with the specifics of the family with a disabled child, the possibilities of education and the acquaintance with the Association to help children with disabilities, where the research was carried out. The focus of the work is a qualitative research, the aim of which was to reveal through the semi-structured interviews, how the parents of their children perceive. Based on the research carried out, it was found that the parents' view of the education of their children with disabilities is influenced by the type of disability, its depth, the quality of communication with the school and the human attitude of pedagogical staff.