Any added value? Co-constructing life stories of and with people with intellectual disabilities

Author:
KOENIG Oliver
Journal article citation:
British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(3), September 2012, pp.213-221.
Publisher:
Wiley

Although there has been increased involvement of people with intellectual disability in research, they have been largely excluded from the areas of data analysis and theory development. One reason for this might be that not many people with intellectual disability have received training in research. The paper presents data from the first core research project in German-speaking countries that was carried out within an inclusive framework. The FWF (Austrian Science Fund) financed project ‘Experiences of participation in the (vocational) biography of people with intellectual disability’ at the University of Vienna aimed to look at the life stories and narratives of people with intellectual disability during transition from school to work and in working life. The project included the formation of a ‘reference group’ which aimed to involve people with intellectual disability in the process of co-construction of theory through the shared analysis of the collected qualitative data. The findings from the reference group demonstrate the ‘added value’ of including people with intellectual disability in the analysis of qualitative data. The group are shown to bring new insights that broaden the theoretical sensitivity and analytical focus and also influence the direction of further analysis.

Subject terms:
learning disabilities, life story work, participatory research, data analysis;
Content type:
research
Location(s):
Austria
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
1468-3156
ISSN print:
1354-4187

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