Life Course of Special Educational Needs Students, 1st ed. 2023
Norwegian School Experiences and Long-term Consequences
Lifelong Learning Book Series, Vol. 31

This book discusses the contested issue of how different kinds of special educational support in Norway, such as placement in special classes or use of teacher assistants, prepare Special Educational Need (SEN) students for further education and adult life. This is done by following former students categorized as having special educational needs for twenty years, from the start of the upper secondary school until their mid-thirties.

Different choices and the adjustments and active adaptations young people make throughout their lives is a recurring theme, focusing on education, work, family, mental health, and social networks. The authors in this volume analyze and critically discuss topics around competence attainment in upper secondary school and higher education, employment, public support in adult life, mental health, social exclusion and isolation, and data-mediated networks.  

It concludes how the experiences from school time have affected the adaptation in later adulthood, and provides an answer to whether the assistive measures have benefits. What are the consequences in the short and long run? A central explanatory tension is between disabled students and disabling schools. We trace consequences ? possibly non-intended ? for the former SEN students due to the stigmatization effect of receiving special educational help in a vulnerable phase of life.

The authors interpret results within a framework of life course approaches and disability theories. The perspectives introduced in the book are of interest for researchers and academics in the social sciences, such as sociology, special education, and social work.

Professor Emeritus Jon Olav Myklebust, Faculty of Social Science and History, Volda University College, Volda, Norway. Dr. polit., Sociology, University of Trondheim 1995. He has codirected the longitudinal study of Norwegian youth with special educational needs since the start in 1995 and published extensively on this research. In addition to life course studies, his research interests and publications include demography, community studies, and historical sociology. 

Professor Emeritus Rune Kvalsund, Faculty of Social Science and History, Volda University College, Volda, Norway. Dr. polit., Educational Science, University of Trondheim 1995. He has codirected the longitudinal study of Norwegian youth categorized as having special educational needs since the start in 1995. He has published several research articles in this field as well as in the field of research on school and local community. He was co-founder and leader of EERA Research Network14, Communities, Families and Schooling in Eductional Research since the start in 1996 and since 2016 Honorary Member of the network. 

Professor Finn Ove Båtevik, Faculty of Social Science and History, Volda University College, Volda, Norway. Dr. polit., Social Geography, University of Bergen 1994. He has codirected the longitudinal study of Norwegian youth with special educational needs since 2002 and published several research articles based on this study. In addition to life course studies, his publications and research interests include demography, and community studies.