Sweden's 'uneducable' children: How a hospital denied schooling to 1 in 5 young residents
A new study reveals that Vipeholm Hospital in Sweden confined hundreds of children labeled 'uneducable' to idle, unstimulating conditions from 1935 to 1963—decades before they legally gained the right to education. The research challenges historical assumptions about disabled children's potential and raises questions about institutional accountability and educational access that still resonate in disability policy today.
Originaltitel: "... äro absolut obildbara": Barnen på Vipeholm 1935–1963
<p><strong>"... are absolutely uneducable:" The children at Vipeholm 1935–1963.</strong> Vipeholm Hospital in Sweden was the only institution for 'uneducated, difficult to care for feebleminded'. Although it was designed for adults, a fifth of those admitted were under the age of 15. The article focuses on the children and their everyday life 1935-1963. The starting point is a life course perspective in which children were expected to act according to normative notions of childhood, which included education and play, even though they were labelled 'uneducable'. A kindergarten was opoened, but most children were considered incapable of attending. Instead, they lived a life of idleness in an environment devoid of stimulation. Children labelled as 'uneducable' have received little attention in research, and so the study contributes empirical knowledge about a group who only gained the right to education in 1968. The article is based on archival material such as patient records, annual- and inspection reports.</p>