"We Mostly Stay Together" - social participation among children with disabilities in education outside the classroom

"Vi plejer at gøre det sammen" - social deltagelse blandt børn med funktionsnedsættelser i udeskole

Warloff, Nora Sofie Alvarez

4. term

Social Work, Master

2026

2026-05-28

62

This thesis examines how children with disabilities experience and negotiate social participation in outdoor schooling at a Danish special school. These children are at higher risk of being left out of social and academic communities, which affects well-being, learning and belonging. Outdoor schooling is common in Danish special schools; 56.6% report using it regularly. In mainstream education, outdoor schooling has been linked to learning through practical, bodily and sensory activities that can support learning, well-being and health. Yet we know little about how children with disabilities themselves experience participation in this setting, and about how participation is created, challenged and supported in everyday interactions. The study is a qualitative case study at one special school with long-standing experience of outdoor schooling. Fieldwork took place over eight school days in March 2026 and included participant observation and interviews with selected pupils across three grade levels to capture children’s own perspectives. The analysis draws on perspectives that view social phenomena as relational and layered. Data are interpreted abductively alongside theory, including Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies, which sees children with disabilities as active participants. Established theories of social interaction and roles (for example ideas about “face” and interaction rituals) are used to understand how participation emerges or breaks down in concrete situations. Findings show that social participation in the classroom depends strongly on predictable structures, clear roles and ongoing adult mediation. When these conditions are missing, participation can destabilize, leading to withdrawal or conflict. This provides an important backdrop for understanding what outdoor schooling can offer. In outdoor schooling, activities are organized around shared tasks such as cooking over a fire, movement and time in nature. This creates shared focus and room for varied engagement. Children can take part in different ways—by joining in, by observing, or by stepping back for a while—without losing their connection to the group. The study highlights that peripheral participation (being present without active involvement) can be a legitimate and socially accepted way to be part of the community. Outdoor schooling does not automatically produce inclusion, however. Breakdowns in participation still occur. How they are handled depends on timing and the availability of support from adults and peers, as well as on organizational conditions. Across the material, conditions that enable participation are identified: flexible organization, access to different roles, tolerance for variation in engagement, and caring, mutually supportive relationships. Participation is limited by rigid structures, few alternatives for taking part, and social boundary-making that is not addressed. Overall, the thesis shows that social participation is not an individual trait but a relational, situated process continually negotiated between organizational frames, social relationships and specific activities. Outdoor schooling can create favourable conditions for more flexible forms of participation, but it also requires attention to the social mechanisms that both enable and limit children’s opportunities. This has implications for pedagogy and social work: focus less on individual resources and more on how participation is organized and supported in practice.

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan børn med funktionsnedsættelser oplever og forhandler social deltagelse i udeskole på en dansk specialskole. Børn i denne gruppe har større risiko for at stå udenfor klassens sociale og faglige fællesskaber, hvilket påvirker trivsel, læring og følelsen af at høre til. Udeskole er udbredt i danske specialskoler; 56,6% oplyser, at de bruger udeskole regelmæssigt. I almene skoler er udeskole forbundet med læring gennem praktiske, kropslige og sanselige aktiviteter, der kan styrke læring, trivsel og sundhed. Der mangler dog viden om, hvordan børn med funktionsnedsættelser selv oplever at være med i denne ramme, og hvordan deltagelse skabes, udfordres og støttes i hverdagen. Undersøgelsen er et kvalitativt casestudie på én specialskole med lang erfaring med udeskole. Feltarbejdet foregik over otte skoledage i marts 2026 og omfattede deltagerobservationer og interviews med udvalgte elever på tre klassetrin for at få indblik i børnenes egne erfaringer. Analysen bygger på perspektiver, der ser sociale fænomener som relationelle og lagdelte. Det empiriske materiale fortolkes abduktivt i samspil med teori, bl.a. Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies, som betoner børn med funktionsnedsættelser som aktive deltagere. Derudover anvendes etablerede teorier om sociale roller og samspil (fx om “face” og interaktionsritualer) til at forstå, hvordan deltagelse bliver til eller bryder sammen i konkrete situationer. Resultaterne viser, at social deltagelse i klasselokalet i høj grad afhænger af forudsigelige rammer, tydelige roller og løbende støtte fra voksne. Når disse betingelser mangler, kan deltagelsen vakle og føre til tilbagetrækning eller konflikt. Dette danner en vigtig baggrund for at forstå, hvad udeskole kan åbne for. I udeskole organiseres aktiviteter omkring fælles opgaver som mad over bål, bevægelse og ophold i naturen. Det skaber delt fokus og plads til varieret engagement. Børn kan deltage på forskellige måder—aktivt, ved at observere eller ved midlertidigt at trække sig—uden at miste tilknytning til fællesskabet. Særligt peger studiet på, at perifer deltagelse (at være til stede uden at deltage aktivt) kan være en legitim og socialt accepteret måde at være med på. Udeskole skaber dog ikke automatisk inklusion. Der opstår stadig situationer, hvor deltagelse bryder sammen. Hvordan disse håndteres, afhænger af timing og tilgængelig støtte fra både voksne og jævnaldrende samt af de organisatoriske rammer. På tværs af materialet identificeres betingelser, der fremmer deltagelse: fleksibel organisering, adgang til forskellige roller, tolerance for variation i engagement og relationer præget af omsorg og gensidig støtte. Deltagelse begrænses omvendt af rigide strukturer, få muligheder for alternative deltagelsesformer og uadresserede sociale grænsedragninger. Overordnet peger specialet på, at social deltagelse ikke er et individuelt træk, men en relationel, situeret proces, som hele tiden forhandles i mødet mellem rammer, relationer og konkrete aktiviteter. Udeskole kan skabe gunstige betingelser for mere fleksible deltagelsesformer, men kræver opmærksomhed på de sociale mekanismer, der både kan muliggøre og begrænse børns muligheder. Det har betydning for pædagogisk praksis og socialt arbejde, hvor fokus med fordel kan rettes mod, hvordan deltagelse organiseres og understøttes i praksis—snarere end mod det enkelte barns ressourcer.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

Udeskole

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