This qualitative study is concerned with the transition process from school to post-school life for students labelled with learning disability in New Zealand. My interest is in understanding how a particular group of these young people can make a successful transition from school in their search for a good life, as they themselves judge this. I draw on critical social theory to position these young people within contemporary education and society, using a Disability Studies in Education (DSE) framework to understand learning disability as socially, culturally and politically constructed. I draw on Zygmunt Bauman’s critique of neoliberal hegemony and use of metaphor to understand how young people with learning disability are excluded in a contemporary Western society. Post-school outcomes identify very little useful tertiary education or paid employment; long-term reliance on family for living and housing; and extremely limited social networks, mostly founded on family members and paid or voluntary support workers. I argue that these young people are caught in a parallel education system that largely controls and manages them along a restrictive pathway from special education services in schools to special vocational and welfare services post school. The clear voice of the young people through the research findings demonstrates this is not what they want. They want the same opportunities as their peers without disability. Andrew and Caroline, two young people with Down syndrome, and I formed a research team. We came together to explore, understand and respond to an exclusionary landscape during the transition process that I argue leads to unrealised lives. The study utilises a participatory action research approach. It is a collaborative journey and a transformative response to exclusion through what I describe as “the relational dimension.” Further, it is a call to arms on behalf of a particular group of students who have been mostly excluded from rights, responsibilities and opportunities to contribute positively to their lives and the lives of others. This thesis has been a journey of personal and professional, individual and collective discovery. Answers to the question of how young people with learning disability can transition towards a good life are to be found in how we fundamentally value this group of young people in education and society. Valuing can only occur if we recognise our interdependence while acknowledging our unique differences. Only then will we truly provide the opportunities and support that we all need to move forward in our journey towards a good life. This thesis will be of interest to young people; parents; education and social policy leaders; school leaders; career specialists; and all teachers, professionals and support workers in the field. Its findings and recommendations challenge “expert” and deficit constructions of learning disability. They have relevance for a collaborative “whole-school” approach to career and transition policy and practice for students with learning disability; importantly, however, they also have relevance for all students. Effective relationships are central to understanding how, through our relative interdependency; we can collaboratively make the journey towards a good life. Additionally, the thesis contributes to knowledge regarding how to meaningfully involve young people with learning disability in the research process through their lived and our shared experiences that provide ethical, methodological and procedural insights. I develop two main arguments in this thesis. My first argument is that exclusion from educational opportunity must be exposed, challenged and rejected. Exclusion must be exposed in order to understand the unequal power mechanisms at play. Exclusion must be challenged, as the outcome of these unequal power mechanisms is that some students succeed and some fail. Exclusion must be rejected to make way for new relational, transformative education agendas. My second argument is that direct and meaningful involvement and collaboration by young people with learning disability in the research process will support practical solutions towards greater democracy in education and society. The ultimate outcome of democracy in education is a system where all students are valued and celebrated for their unique differences and stories, yet with recognition of their relative interdependency. All students are viewed as capable, purposeful, responsible and contributing. They are provided with the opportunities and support required to realise a good life, leading to active contribution and a sense of belonging in education and society.

This thesis presents a 31-day case study carried out with a 15 year old young man who has classical autism. The study involved introducing him to a number of new and challenging activities, in a variety of contexts, over 31 days, that were previously assumed to be outside of his range of capability. The case study found that the application of the concepts of choice, control, challenge and risk had an unexpectedly positive impact upon the young man’s performance. This study further attempts to explore the concept of narrative as a ‘pedagogical bridge’ between the ‘worlds’ of autism and neurotypicality, arguing that narrative may provide a ‘way in’ to the world of autism. ‘Narrative’, this study contends, may provide a tapestry across which the world of autism may be connected with the world that surrounds it; by revealing a multiplicity of selves in a multiplicity of contexts. Methods of data collection included field notes, interviews, photographs and film footage. Ultimately, the study found that the use of ‘performance texts’ (DVDs featuring the young man’s achievements) constituted a powerful means of celebrating his accomplishments within the school and its wider community. Research approaches were participatory and ethnographic in the data collection phases, while a more phenomenological approach was adopted in the data analysis phase. The overarching analytical framework was that of ‘narrative analysis’ in telling a story of bravery, courage, hope and optimism.

Die Wege von ehemaligen Förderschüler*innen nach der Schule in Ausbildung, Arbeit oder Übergangsmaßnahmen können mit Hilfe der bestehenden Statistiken nur vage nachvollzogen werden. Die subjektive Sichtweise der Förderschüler*innen wird dabei zudem sehr selten erfasst. Besonders bei dem Förderschwerpunkt (FS) Geistige Entwicklung (GE) sind (strukturelle) Benachteiligungen deutlich zu erkennen. So werden die Schüler*innen dieses Förderschwerpunktes fast ausschließlich an der Förderschule beschult. Das Forschungsdesign der Dissertation ist eine explorative Längsschnittstudie mit Fokus auf die Entstehung und Umsetzung des Berufswunsches bei acht Schüler*innen des FS GE. Innerhalb dieses Lebensabschnittes werden die Partizipationsmöglichkeiten und Barrieren aus Sicht der Schüler*innen eruiert. Als theoretisch-konzeptionelle Grundlage dient der Begriff der Partizipation. Der inflationär verwendete und dennoch unscharf definierte Partizipationsbegriff wird sowohl politisch in unterschiedlichen Diskursen, als auch im Bereich der Behindertenhilfe rege diskutiert. Besonders eine Abgrenzung zu dem Begriff der Teilhabe findet sich jedoch eher selten. In der Dissertation wird eine Schärfung des Begriffs Partizipation vorgenommen. Die Studie konnte zeigen, dass Partizipationsmöglichkeiten der Schüler*innen des FS GE in dem Übergang Schule-Beruf nur in einem geringen Umfang und in einem begrenzten Handlungsrahmen möglich sind. Das Lehrpersonal, die Reha-Berater*innen der Agentur für Arbeit, sowie die Eltern haben einen großen Einfluss auf den Berufswunsch der Förderschüler*innen und die Umsetzung dessen. Alternative Ausbildungs- und Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten, wie z.B. Unterstützte Beschäftigung, Fachpraktikerausbildung usw. wurden von den Schüler*innen nicht thematisiert. Des Weiteren konnten die teilweise engen Kooperationen der Schulen zu den Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen aufgezeigt werden, sowie eine fehlende langfristige Begleitung von unabhängigen Berufsberater*innen. / The paths of former special needs students after school into training, work or vocational education can only be very vaguely traced with the help of the existing statistics. The subjective point of view of the special needs students is only rarely recorded. Structural disadvantages are particularly evident at students with special needs related to intellectual development. Students with special needs related to intellectual development are almost exclusively taught at special schools. The research design of the dissertation is an exploratory longitudinal study. The research question was how the career aspirations were developed, of eight special needs students related to intellectual development, and how they can implement them. In the dissertation, the concept of participation was chosen as the theoretical and conceptual basis. The concept of participation, which is used excessively and is still vaguely defined, is the subject of lively debate both politically in various discourses and in the work with people with disabilities. However, a distinction from the concept of participation is rare. In the dissertation, an urgently needed differentiation of the definition of the concept of participation took place. The study was able to show that the participation opportunities for students in the transition from school to work are only possible to a small extent and within a limited, usually predeter-mined, framework for action. In the case of the special needs students, it can be seen that the teaching staff, the rehabilitation consultants from the employment agency and the parents have a major influence on the career choice of the special needs students. Existing support options, such as supported employment, etc. were not discussed by the students. Furthermore, the sometimes close cooperation between the schools and the sheltered workshop for people with disabilities could be shown, as well as a lack of long-term support from independent careers advisers.