Undesirable citizens: Education, care and control of the “Feeble-minded” in the Swedish Province of Malmöhus, 1900–1950
This paper contains the main results of a recently completed historical research project about the situation of persons cate- gorized as“feeble-minded” in Sweden. In this study, the case of Malmohus province constitutes the microhistorical core. Here, educational and care institutions such as schools, asylums and working homes were particularly established in the first half of the 20th century. The motives behind these foundations will be discussed and the working routines in those institutions will be analysed in terms of teaching and after-care of the inmates and their exclusion justified by social constructs such as “uneducable” or “moral imbecile”. This paper aims at demonstrating how feeble-mindedness was perceived as a social problem, and how close the efforts of education and care were connected to eugenic ideology and control. Thereby, the history of the feeble-minded will be interpreted as a striking example of the contradictions of modernity. The coincidence of social inclusion and exclusion was a characteristic of the situation of an undesirable group of citizens in the Swedish society under the era of modernization. This outcome is of high relevance for understanding the early historical development of the Nordic welfare state.
The impact of education selection according to notions of intelligence: A systematic literature review
Abstract This paper reports on a systematic review of how intelligence-based classification within schools shapes lives and identities of individuals, families and communities. Formal education has long divided learners, formally and informally between and within schools. These practices have remained in place despite strong evidence to suggest they are problematic, both in relation to the equitable nature of the practices involved and in their impact upon pedagogy, expectations and outcomes. This review examined what was known about the impact of intelligence-based selection upon people's lived experience, in the short term and longitudionally. From 3643 possible papers published since 1944, only 85 had a focus upon children's schooling, intelligence-based selection, and the lives and identities of individuals, families or communities. It was evident that very little consideration has been given to longitudinal impact of selection practices, including a paucity of life history approaches. Three broad strands of intelligence classification research were evident related to: • entrance examinations/criteria/Standardised Assessment Tests (SATS) • gifted and talented • streaming/setting/tracking with most concentrating upon a single selection mechanism and quantitative measures. Looking across these strands, educational selection was seen to impact on people's lives, identities and relationships, creating and perpetuating social hierarchies and divisions. It was overall a conflicted experience with more negative effects than positive. However, the literature largely failed to investigate the broader, interconnected influences of the knowledge hierarchy and its impact upon people's lived experiences.
Beyond the Medical Model: A reconsideration of 'feeblemindedness', citizenship, and eugenic restrictions
The rise of eugenic restrictions in early twentieth century America reshaped the relationship between intellectual disability, citizenship, and the exercise of rights. To explain the rise of rights restrictions, scholarship has largely turned to the medicalisation of 'feeblemindedness', while overlooking mainstream concepts within citizenship studies. By drawing upon an institutional and relational approach to citizenship, I argue that factors including the dominant legal narratives and infrastructure, as well as the broader relational context can be used to enhance our understanding of the development of eugenic restrictions. More broadly, an institutional and relational approach to citizenship can provide a theoretical framework by which to meaningfully include people with intellectual disabilities within citizenship studies, while recognising their unique historical experiences.