Gambling for capital: learning disability, inclusive research and collaborative life histories

Authors:
BJORNSDOTTIR Kristin, SVENSDOTTIR Aileen Soffia
Journal article citation:
British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(4), December 2008, pp.263-270.
Publisher:
Wiley

The aim of this paper is to reflect on research collaboration between a research participant with learning disability and a nondisabled doctoral student. It explores the inclusiveness of the research partnership and how collaborative life histories can be empowering both for participants and researchers. It is suggested that it is possible to make any kind of research inclusive, although doctoral projects can perhaps not be fully inclusive because of academic requirements. It is argued that people with learning disabilities should have the opportunity to be involved in research and that collaborative writing between nondisabled researchers and people with learning disabilities is no less valuable than other disability research and should be taken seriously by policy makers and academia. A second aim of the paper is to reflect on the authors positions, as a nondisabled researcher and a researcher with learning disabilities, in the field of disability studies.

Subject terms:
learning disabilities, life story work, participatory research, empowerment;
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
1468-3156
ISSN print:
1354-4187

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