Till Örebro universitet

The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to knowledge about teachers’ didactic choices when teaching content to students with intellectual disabilities. To achieve this, the study examines how teachers choose and justify teaching content. The focus is on content that highlights the educational goals of democracy and sustainable development. The results from the sub-studies are developed into didactic principles that explain how teachers can make content decisions to prepare students with intellectual disabilities for adulthood in society and the world. Didactic theory helps explain teachers’ content choices by emphasizing the connections among teachers, students, and content, as well as the democratic purpose of education and the broader contexts of schooling, society, and global sustainability. Three studies were conducted: a scoping review (Study I) and two interview and observation studies (Studies II and III). Study I shows that teachers’ didactic choices are rarely explicitly discussed in prior research and that academic content often overlaps with life functional content. Study II identifies participation, independence, and communication as key reasons for selecting content for students with intellectual disabilities; these reasons are evident across school, societal, and global contexts. Study III shows that teachers incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability concepts into their teaching. These choices help students develop skills that support a sustainable society and world – such as self-determination, codetermination, and solidarity. In the final chapter, the findings are synthesized into three didactic principles based on teachers’ choices: 1. Teaching should give students with intellectual disabilities the chance to become active agents in a democratic society. 2. Teaching should provide students with intellectual disabilities opportunities for communication, independence, and participation. 3. Teaching should enable students with intellectual disabilities to contribute to sustainable development.