Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p20297"

In this research, I will examine the educational pathways of young individuals with se-vere sensory or mobility impairments in Finland, focusing on their transition from educa-tion to the workforce. Interviews with 45 participants born since the early 1980s indicate four key struggles: 1) the fight for inclusion in mainstream education, 2) the struggle for accessible learning environments, 3) combating discrimination and ableism in educa-tional settings, and 4) integration into the labor market. These struggles highlight em-bedded ableism in the education system and society, perpetuating the belief that disa-bled people are less capable or valuable. Until the early 2000s, the existence of a net-work of special schools emphasised the choice of school enrolment, with parents play-ing a crucial role in choosing the path. Since the dismantling of the special school sys-tem, people with severe sensory and mobility impairments are more likely to be educat-ed in mainstream education, so the struggles have shifted to the later stages of the ed-ucational pathway. This has meant that disabled people themselves have become key players, alongside parents. At the same time, the difference in educational pathways be-tween disabled people with a disability before the start of the school years and disabled people with a disability later in life has diminished.