Country Report for Norway: Pathways for Disabled Students to Tertiary Education and Employment
Norway follows the social model of disability, where “disability” is defined as a product of socially constructed barriers restricting individuals with impairments from participating equally in society.
The varying definitions means that students and their families have to meet varying definitional criteria from several administrative units, in order to release the services they are eligible for. Many report this as a tiresome business. Administrative definitions of disability are based on an assessment of individual needs. They are therefore means-tested, not of rights-based. This might lead students and their families into picking strategies of convincing service providers by overstressing their own disability, instead of their capabilities. The definitions in both the educational sector and the Labour and welfare administration (NAV) are different, which might make coordination difficult.
Long abstract
