Drawing on an interdisciplinary research arts project in collaboration with a day activity centre (DAC) with an artistic profile, we explore the dynamic of caring relationships, that is, the interaction between the staff and the participants, within welfare settings aimed at people with disabilities. Our research takes its point of departure in critical disability studies. The power dynamic of caring relationships is often imbued with paternalistic notions positioning the service user as the ‘vulnerable disabled Other’ and the carer as the ‘invulnerable expert practitioner’. Together with this DAC, we set up a research arts project about dreams and carried out ethnographic fieldwork. The analysis reveals how the art work offers an inclusive space where the predefined roles of staff/‘expert’ and participant/‘care recipient’ somewhat cease to control the interaction between them. These caring relationships are characterised by reciprocity, collaboration and a respect for differences, enabling agency and voice for the participants.

Drawing on an interdisciplinary research arts project run by the Department of Special Education and the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University in collaboration with a Day Activity Centre (DAC) with an artistic profile we explore caring relationships within social care practices aimed for people with disabilities. Our research takes its point of departure in critical disability studies. The power dynamic of caring relationships is often imbued by ableist ideas positioning the service user as the ‘vulnerable disabled Other’ and the health/social care worker as the ‘invulnerable expert practitioner’. Yet, there is also the potential of caring relationships to be more reciprocal offering learning opportunities for all involved. Today there is a small body of empirical studies that explore the potential of artwork in challenging the dominant idea of a dichotomy between disability and invulnerable embodiments in health/social care settings. Here we take our point of departure in an ableist approach together with a relational approach to explore caring relationships in such settings. A relational approach entails that phenomena such as learning and creative work are understood as inter-personal phenomena. This indicates that art-work produced within a DAC cannot simply be explained by individual characteristics or by the structural factors and conditions that prevail in the specific context. The relationship itself, what happens within interaction and communication processes between individuals in a particular context, is th eunit of analysis. We have together with the DAC, set up a research arts project and employed ethnographic fieldwork to explore how the interaction between the staff/supervisors and the artists — adults with neuropsychiatric disabilities and adults with learning disabilities — provides opportunities for learning processes in these encounters. During our presentation we will discuss our findings; how the caring relationships offer potentials for joint learning processes and democratic practices.

Education is the cornerstone for developing a democratic society, and vital to the work of fostering new generations of citizens. Therefore, knowledge about how to work with democracy in school and in teacher training is important. Education is often considered as the arena where society can transfer democratic values and give people insights into the meaning of democracy. However, there is a lack of empirical research conducted in classrooms, which urges us to investigate the interpretation of how the doing of democracy in education is carried out. In this case study we explore how democratic values are or are not, manifested by teacher students and teachers in teacher education. In order to understand democracy in education, we ask questions about student influence, reciprocity and critical thinking. The empirical material consists of observations and narratives of teacher students, and the analysis is done by using Cultural analysis. The findings show that teacher educators’ and teacher students’ engagement, and mutual responsibility, is significant for democratic education. Also, critical aspects are identified concerning students' expectations, teachers' limited space for action and an inflexible organizational structure. To conclude, we have revealed a need for more research, to continue the debate of democracy in teacher education. 

Reference to teachers as agents of change has become commonplace in the education literature, including change toward more inclusive practice in response to the changing demographic of schooling. Yet, little is known about how teacher agency relates to (1) their understanding of, and commitment to any given change agenda and (2) the institutional and social structures through which they are able to access knowledge and resources within and beyond their schools. This study combined social and epistemic network analysis to examine teachers’ understanding of change and their sense of agency as they use their social networks to mobilise support for furthering change that matters to them. Our study is the first to apply this learning analytic approach in a real setting context. We used theories of teacher agency and inclusive pedagogy to interpret teachers’ social interactions in light of the extent to which they seek to make a difference toward greater inclusion. We collected data with an online log completed by teachers and other staff in two schools in Sweden over 6 months. The findings suggest that teachers understanding of change is embedded in their day-to-day activities such as student support, lesson planning, improvement of programs, and working conditions. Teachers tend to exercise agency toward inclusion when they seek to support student learning and well-being. When teachers act as agents of change, their social networks are bigger, more diverse and more collaborative than in situations in which they act as role implementers. We discuss substantive and methodological implications of these findings.

A key component of the functioning of a market system of education is the provision of information to consumers. While marketing may be used by schools to provide information to consumers. The marketing information may appeal to some consumers and not others. This study examines independent schools marketing on their websites and how it appeals to consumers in need of special support. The findings show that these schools market their goals and values, studentship, methods and programmes, services as well as facilities. The marketing by these schools may not appeal to students in need of special support in the failure to provide relevant and adequate information to them and framing of their studentship that does not include students in need of special support as well as the focus on academic performance.

Lifelong learning and Inclusive Education are invaluable components of the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) 2030, along with international joint agreements such as theUniversal Declaration of Human rights. People with disabilities often tend to becomemarginalized in society, as children, youth and adults. It is vital to harness the creative skills ofexceptional learners to extinguish old stereotypes surrounding disability and create a culturetruly representative of all people. Making Arts and Crafts as phenomena offer possibilities tothe maker to express the “voice” of oneself both as an individual and as a group, and givepossibilities to have a creative and meaningful life. It can also become a source for income. Itunderpins that pedagogy includes not only processes of learning, but also processes of humandevelopment and socialization. This translates into transformative learning as mindsets, habitsof mind are transformed. The implications for education are enormous because transformativelearning tends to result in learners being motivated to take collective social action to changesocial practices, institutions or systems. Therefore, a reconstruction of education is imperativeto make it meaningful and give it a deeper and wider meaning. The concept of lifelong learningis of considerable importance although, different operational modalities would, nonetheless,probably have to be adopted with regard to its application in the various contexts in differentcountries. In addition, to allow individuals, in any particular country, the opportunities to obtainimprovements in the quality of their lives, the concept of lifelong education would also haveto be adapted in accordance with different socio-economic, cultural and both intra-educationaland extra-educational variables within that country. The overall aim is therefore: 1) toinvestigate the possibilities and challenges experienced by people with disabilities workingwith arts and crafts as their livelihood in Sweden and India and 2) to create a network and drawon different experiences, knowledge and explore the possibility of writing joint research projects.

Taking our point of departure from critical disability studies, this study explores affordances of a day activity centre with an artistic profile. The analysis reveals that this centre has two fundamental meanings to the participants; it is a place to create art, and it is a safe haven'. Our conclusion is that the desire to belong, to be in a community and to do artwork, entails a future need for flexible institutional environments, where the social milieu is characterized by increased influence and with an engaging focus, such as that which is offered in cultural work.

Academic writing skills are crucial when students, e.g., in teacher education programs, write their undergraduate theses. A multi-modal web-based and self-regulated learning resource on academic writing was developed, using texts, hypertext, moving images, podcasts and templates. A study, using surveys and a focus group, showed that students used the learning resource on numerous occasions, a resource reachable outside in-person mentor sessions. Students declared that the resources had been important for finishing their degree projects. Mentors highlighted structure, multidisciplinary overview and linking possibilities. Using digital learning resources supporting students' academic writing is doubtless a developmental area in higher education.