Aims: The UK policy documents ‘Valuing people’ (DOH, 2001) and ‘Valuing people now’ (DOH, 2009) presaged a new direction in learning disability services: towards a human-rights model of care with the underlying principles of rights, choice, inclusion, freedom and independence. However, despite such legislative changes, a recent review (DOH, 2008a) candidly described that people with learning disabilities have greater need for healthcare than other people, yet have worse access to the care that they actually need and poorer health outcomes. Whilst some research has explored this from the perspective of people with learning disability (Jones & Donati, 2009; Jones & Parry, 2008) there is significantly less from the perspective of support workers. This research seeks to examine the emotional and psychological experience of support workers in learning disability services. Although research has explored the experience of support workers from the perspectives of ‘stress’ and ‘burnout’, there is a dearth of research in areas such as emotions, sense-making, their constructing of systems, relationships and their underlying motivations. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven support workers from three learning disability care homes. Verbatim transcripts of interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: The analysis produced two superordinate themes, both with two main themes. The superordinate theme ‘Emotional Motivation’ had the main themes ‘Personal Fulfilment and motivation’ and ‘The Emotional Struggle’. The superordinate theme ‘Demands and Coping’ had the main themes ‘Safety and Conflict within Coping’ and ‘Persecution and Protective Positions’. Implications: This research suggests that the support worker role may evoke strong feelings of pleasure but also powerlessness, blame, deficit, injustice, responsibility and anger. Support workers seem to manage these emotions in various ways: such as compensating by striving to be the ‘ideal’ carer, protecting themselves by avoiding and not elaborating on difficulties, and also projecting their difficulties onto others. Problematically, this may reinforce a work culture in which no individual actually takes responsibility for the ongoing difficulties, conflict and struggles. Thus, political and legislative changes may be negated or ineffective unless addressed within the context of this dynamic; namely, the value, emotional and meaning systems within services, i.e. the nature of the relationship between the support worker and resident. Indeed, paid staff are often the only meaningful relationship that people with learning disability have in their lives. Such findings are discussed in light of existing theory, research and practice.

Tanken om den inkluderande skolan har under en längre tid debatterats livligt av forskare från olika vetenskapliga discipliner. Det som i huvudsak har diskuterats är om, och i så fall varför, alla elever skall undervisas tillsammans eller inte. Märkligt nog har frågan om hur en inkluderande skola kan uppnås inte alls fått samma uppmärksamhet. Syftet med den här studien är att öka kunskapen om och förståelsen för hur ”den inkluderande skolan” kan skapas och hur personal, elever och föräldrar upplever en skola som strävar efter att bli fullständigt inkluderande. Studien bygger på kvalitativa, semistrukturerade intervjuer i en skola vars uttryckliga ambition är att bli en skola för alla elever. Tretton personer intervjuades: fem av skolans personal, fyra elever och fyra föräldrar. I resultatet framkommer det att begreppet ”en skola för alla” har olika betydelse för de intervjuade personerna. Eleverna beskriver ”en skola för alla” som en skola där alla trivs och mår bra. De använder ord som glädje och kamratskap, medan skolpersonalen i huvudsak relaterar till lärande, flexibilitet i undervisningsmetoder, olika former av stöd, storleken på klasserna, antal lärare i klassrummen samt tillgången till tekniska hjälpmedel. / Researchers from different disciplines have debated the idea of inclusion in relation to the educational system for quite a while and the debate is still ongoing. The debate has mainly focused on why and whether all children should be educated together. Interestingly, the question of how inclusion could be achieved has not received the same attention. The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge and understanding of how “the inclusive school” can be created and how a school that attempts to reach full inclusion is experiences by staff, pupils and parents. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted in a school that has the explicit aim of becoming a school that includes all children. Thirteen people were interviewed: five of the staff, four children and four parents. The results indicate that there are different views among the participants about “the inclusive school”. While the children appear to associate an inclusive school with a feeling of well being and mention words like happiness and friendship the staff mention more knowledge related concepts, such as learning, flexibility in teaching methods, support forms, class size, number of teachers in the classrooms and technical facilities.

The aim of the study is to contribute with knowledge about how young adults with intellectual disability experience the transition from upper secondary school to working life. The following research questions have been formulated based on the aim: How do ten young adults with intellectual disability describe the transition from school to work or daily activities? What factors affect the young adults`chances of getting a job or daily activity after finishing school? Which parts of their education has facilitated or created barriers for the young adults`transition from school to work or daily activities?  The study is based on a qualitative method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten young adults with intellectual disabilities who have completed the upper secondary school. The analysis and interpretation work of the study´s empirical data material is based on Bronfenbrenner´s (1979) ecological systems theory. These systems include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. The study´s results indicate that workplace-based learning is a central factor in promoting young adults with intellectual disability´s establishment in the labour market. The results also show that the informants in the study do not remember and have difficulties explaining the transition process from school to work or daily activities. The young adults want to work, but it is challenging for this group to get a job in the open labour market. They have skills that are fit for the labour market, but need support to cope with working life. Collaborations between different actors and social support are required for this to work. / Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur unga vuxna upplever övergången från anpassad gymnasieskola till arbetsliv. Följande frågeställningar har formulerats utifrån syftet: Hur beskriver tio unga vuxna som tidigare har läst nationellt program vid anpassad gymnasieskola, sin väg från skola till arbete eller daglig sysselsättning? Vilka faktorer påverkar de unga vuxnas chanser att få ett arbete eller daglig sysselsättning efter avslutad skolgång? Vad i skolgången underlättar, respektive skapar barriärer för de unga vuxnas väg från skola till arbete eller daglig sysselsättning?  Studien grundar sig på en kvalitativ metod och bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio unga vuxna som har avslutat nationellt program i anpassad gymnasieskola. Analys- och tolkningsarbetet av studiens empiriska datamaterial utgår ifrån Bronfenbrenners (1979) utvecklingsekologiska teori, som innehåller de fyra nivåerna; mikrosystem, mesosystem, exosystem och makrosystem. Studiens resultat tyder på att arbetsplatsförlagt lärande utgör en central faktor för att främja unga vuxna med intellektuell funktionsnedsättnings etablering på arbetsmarknaden. Resultatet visar även att informanterna i studien inte kommer ihåg och har svårt att redogöra för övergångsprocessen från anpassad gymnasieskola till arbete eller daglig sysselsättning. De unga vuxna vill ha ett arbete men det är en utmaning för denna målgrupp att få en anställning på den öppna arbetsmarknaden. De har färdigheter som är användbara på arbetsmarknaden, men behöver anpassningar och stöd för att klara av arbetslivet. För att detta ska fungera krävs samarbeten mellan olika aktörer och socialt stöd.