Browsing by Author "Pulkkinen, Jussi"

Different definitions of disability effect the individual and his/her position in society significantly. That is why it is important to study those definitions also in special education.This study used the method of systematic literary review. Six articles were found using systematic review process. The articles were from psychology, education and disability studies journals. Those six articles discussed the definitions of disability and the influence of these definitions on an individual. The results of this literary review suggest that disability is defined medically, as socially created or as socially constructed. Some ethic and legal point of views were also brought out. However, the different ways to define disability were not uniform, naming the same phenomenons differently and emphasizing different aspects of them. Special education defined disability in school context and different definitions lead to either support paradigm or rehabilitation paradigm. All in all, the definitions were considered to lead to a need to heal the individual, change the society or change the attitudes of people.