Uppeldi og menntun - 01.07.2015, Page 99

UPPELDI OG MENNTUN/ICELANDIC JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 24(2) 2015 99
KRISTÍN BJÖRNSDÓTTIR
UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
STEINDÓR JÓNSSON
INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR
Social (in)equality: Collaborative
reflection
This article is a collaborative reflection on social equality between a self-advocate labeled as
having intellectual disabilities and a university lecturer. It is based on inclusive practices
and is the result of 15 years of research collaboration. The article adopts economist Amartya
Sen’s (1992, 2000) capability approach and conceptualization of social exclusion.
Although Iceland is considered to have very high human development there are indications
that disabled people, particularly those with intellectual disabilities, are at risk of social
exclusion. Limited access to economic and material resources, as well as to paid work and
society’s institutions, is a source of deprivation and therefore social exclusion. This dep-
rivation can limit opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to gain the means
necessary to achieve well-being and thus reduce their quality of life. The article concludes
by arguing that people with intellectual disabilities have clearly demonstrated that, with the
right support in place, they are able to fully participate in society. Their right to do so is
fully endorsed by the United Nation’s Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Keywords: Equality, social exclusion, social inclusion, social participation, quality of
life
INTRODUCTION
The demand for equity and cohesion of society as a whole is far from new. Equal
access to rights, dignity, and the worth of all human beings has been defined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) which is intended to be
both universal and egalitarian; that is, the same for everyone everywhere. Neverthe-
less, it has proved necessary to promote the human rights of disabled people with
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) because as a group dis-
abled people are faced with complex socio-cultural obstacles preventing them from
fully participating in society (United Nations, 2006). It is evident that disabled people
Uppeldi og menntun
24. árgangur 2. hefti 2015