My research interest is broadly on education policy especially relating to special education. Specifically, market-based policies in education and consequences on the special education as well as inclusive education and social inclusion for children and young people with disabilities. 

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Inclusive education policy in differentiated contexts: A comparison between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Greece, India and Sweden

  2024. Jude K. Tah (et al.). European Journal of Inclusive Education 3 (1), 167-184

  Article

  Inclusive education has beenat the forefront of education policy since the Salamanca declaration in 1994 and countries across the world have been putting-in place policies to support the implementation of an inclusive education system. This paper examines inclusive education policies in five selected countries in relation to how it is defined, what values and goals underpinned inclusive education and the framing of multisectoral involvement. The aim is to develop a deeper understanding on how the policy enactments in these different national contexts may converge and diverge in the construction of inclusive education. The results show thatnational policies on inclusive education are weak, lacking a clear-cut definition of inclusive education, while access, equity and equality are core values and goals that underpin inclusive education. The results also reveal the policies highlight the involvement of different stakeholders albeit invarying ways in the different countries. 

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• School marketing on their websites and students in need of special support: Independent schools in the Stockholm local education market

  2021. Jude K. Tah, Helén Knutes-Nyqvist. Policy Futures in Education

  Article

  A key component of the functioning of a market system of education is the provision of information to consumers. While marketing may be used by schools to provide information to consumers. The marketing information may appeal to some consumers and not others. This study examines independent schools marketing on their websites and how it appeals to consumers in need of special support. The findings show that these schools market their goals and values, studentship, methods and programmes, services as well as facilities. The marketing by these schools may not appeal to students in need of special support in the failure to provide relevant and adequate information to them and framing of their studentship that does not include students in need of special support as well as the focus on academic performance.

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• Shopping for schools: parents of students with disabilities in the education marketplace in Stockholm

  2020. Jude K. Tah. European Journal of Special Needs Education 35 (4), 497-512

  Article

  This article examines the experiences of parents of students with disabilities when they shop for schools in Stockholm. It looks at the motivations behind school choice, the kinds and sources of information used and the constraints that parents encounter in the school choice process. The results, based on interviews with parents, demonstrate friendship, special support systems and school flexibility as reasons for opting for a particular school. Parents seek school-based and consumer satisfaction information, through the use of both official and unofficial sources. Parents also describe constraints such as lack of choice, information inadequacy and lack of support. The findings of this study suggest some negative implications on inclusion and equity and consumer empowerment for students with disabilities.

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• One market, two perspectives, three implications: on the development of the special education market in Sweden

  2019. Jude K. Tah. European Journal of Special Needs Education 34 (4), 485-498

  Article

  This study examines the development of the special education market through changes in demand and supply and discusses its implications on the system of education of students in need of special support informed by two theoretical perspectives. The study found out that the number of students and schools in the special education market has increased. The relative size of the special education market on the demand side has remained stable while an increase is observed on the supply side. The results also show that the private sector has grown relatively better than the public sector on both the demand and supply sides. Almost all the market segments have increased on both the demand and supply sides, especially the resource schools in the special education market segment. Based on these results, three implications are observed and discussed, namely a diverse and an extended special education system, increasing segregation within the special education system and a relative stability in the incidence of student exclusion.

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• Supporting the social inclusion of children and young adults with IDD and psychiatric comorbidities: Autobiographical narratives of practitioners and academics from Europe

  2023. Andrew Boyle (et al.). Society Register 7 (2), 33-48

  Article

  The article provides a reflection on the social inclusion of children and young people with IDD and associated psychiatric comorbidity through the eyes of practitioners and academics from Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and Romania. Using an autoethnographic approach to share the first-hand experiences of supporting children and young adults with IDD from the perspective of experienced practitioners, telling their stories (individual case studies) and mapping the challenges and successes (best practice) through these professional narratives. The article also acknowledges psychiatric comorbidity in young people with IDD and how psychiatric disorders can impact social inclusion. The results of the self-reflection of active practitioners involved with complex disabilities may serve as a guide for others in sharing best practices and facing difficulties. It also shows the policy developments on a timeline of their practice. Practice-informed issues clinicians and support staff face may aid the training and share the knowledge with other experts. The value added is the interprofessional exchange created by the international contributors.

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• Social inclusion for people with intellectualdisabilities in seven European countries

  2021. Rolf Magnus Grung, Jude Tah, Lynne Marsh. Learning Disability Practice journal 24 (2)

  Article

  Policies for people with disabilities, and specifically those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), have undergone significant changes during the past three decades. Many people with IDD experience social exclusion, which has significant implications for the individual, their family and wider society.

  Today the focus is on accessing universal services, care and support in the community to facilitate social inclusion. Professions and professionals in health, education and social services implement social inclusion policy in the field of IDD. However, there is a lack of coherence between the policy intentions of social inclusion and the realities of professional practice. Educational collaborations involving academics, students and practitioners from the professions working with people who have IDD provide an opportunity for shared learning. These collaborations support the development of knowledge and understanding, and the barriers that need to be addressed to achieve social inclusion for people with IDD.

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• A critical comparison of welfare states and their relevance to people with an intellectual disability

  2016. Linda de Chenu, Dag Dashlen, Jude Tah. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities 20 (4), 397-415

  Article

  This article compares the welfare services for adults with an intellectual disability in three European countries: England, Norway and Sweden. The purpose of the comparison is to develop an understanding of the welfare state and institutional contexts of the country-specific policies and to develop a critical analysis through a comparative method based on selected secondary literature. Typological frameworks of European welfare states are applied as analytic frameworks to enable comparison between the countries. It is argued that there are international policy developments but these are shaped at a national level by different types of welfare states and histories. Through a comparison of similarities and differences, the article suggests that international policy ideas that impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities are mediated by different types of welfare states and institutions.

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• Specialpedagogik, pluralism och sociala utvägar i gymnasieskolans verksamheter: Om ideologi, teori och praktik i dåtid, nutid och framtid.

  2022. Rolf Helldin (et al.).

  Book

  Genom bokens diskussion av och perspektiv på kvalitet och innebörder i skolverksamheter, ges läsarna av Specialpedagogik, pluralism och sociala utvägar i gymnasieskolans verksamheter möjligheter att genom samlade slutsatser och reflexionsavsnitt i texten, tolka och diskutera skeenden på gymnasiet i nutid med samhällsutvecklingen som backspegel. Övergripande fokus gäller rättigheten, värdet och känslan av att uppleva sig tillhöra en gemenskap.

  Med hjälp av nutida och historiska nedslag i forskning lotsas läsaren in i analyser av i skolsammanhang obearbetade tankebanor. Boken kan på så sätt fungera pedagogiskt och socialt idéskapande: Den stimulerar till diskussion, eftertanke och handling för framtida skolverksamheter. Härmed ges, framhåller författarna, både studerande och lärare förutsättningar att formulera goda argument och utvägar för att agera insiktsfullt i sin yrkesvardag.

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• The response to challenging behavior as a barrier to social inclusion Erasmus+ project participants' perspectives on policy and practice

  2021. Rolf Magnus Grung (et al.). Society register 5 (3), 37-62

  Article

  The paper is the result of collaboration between seven European universities and covers health, social pedagogy, and special education programs, aimed at the removal of barriers to social inclusion and social participation facing children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The collaboration received funding from the Erasmus+ Intensive Program with the aim of developing a common curriculum on social inclusion for children and young adults with IDD. Identifying variables that support inclusion for individuals with IDD who engage in challenging behavior is critically important and this paper is built on reviewing social and educational policies from 5 European countries in order to do so. The paper reveals loopholes and paradoxes in policy that hinder social inclusion when addressing challenging behavior. The greatest challenges identified by the researchers are the gaps in training for different professions and the lack of overarching legislation for these professions. Another issue identified is government tolerance of a lack of clear competencies and codes of conduct amongst unregulated service providers.

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• The market for whom? Consumers in need of special support in the Swedish market system of education

  2021. Jude K. Tah.

  Thesis (Doc)

  The aim of this thesis was to analyse and describe the market system of education for consumers in need of special support. Sweden in the beginning of the 1990s implemented a market system of education with the expectation that it will serve the interest of all consumers. Concerns have been raised about the market system of education for consumers in need of special support. This thesis examines how the Swedish market system of education works for consumers in need of special support. It comprises three studies looking at different aspects of the market system of education; namely, the development of the special education market, marketing by independent schools and the experiences of shopping for schools. 

  The aim of study one was to examine the development of the special education market between 1994 and 2017 and its implications for the system of education for students in need of special support. The results show relative stability on the demand-side of the special education market when compared to the education market as a whole, well the supply-side demonstrated significant increase. Moreover, the private sector increased tremendously in both the demand and supply-sides of the special education market. The results imply an expanding special education market system, meanwhile, the incidence of exclusion in terms of enrolment of students in need of special support in segregated settings as an outcome of the market system has remained stable. The results also indicate increasing segregation between schools and between students in the special education system outside of the regular system. 

  The aim of Study Two was to examine marketing by independent schools and how it appeals to consumers in need of special support. Schools use marketing to produce and provide information to prospective consumers, however, there are concerns that this information could appeal to some groups of consumers and not to others, such as consumers in need of special support. The study examined schools marketing on their websites in the Stockholm local education market. The results indicate that these schools marketing do not necessarily appeal to these consumers as it fails to provide relevant and adequate information, in the framing of some goals and values and the framing of their studentship. 

  Study three examined the experiences of parents of students in need of special support in shopping for schools. The results found out that these parents were motivated in their school choice decisions by friendship, the special education support system at the schools and school´s flexibility. Parents were interested in information about school eligibility, availability of resources, and school environment and consumer satisfaction in aspects such as safety and student’s well-being. More so, parents sought information from both official and unofficial sources. Parents expressed constraints in the process of choosing a school such as lack of choice, information inadequacy and lack of support. 

  Overall, the thesis demonstrates how the market system of education functions for consumers in need of special support in some aspects. It shows how these consumers engage the market when it comes to choosing schools and schools engagement with consumers in need of special through marketing. The market system of education seems to have a choice-problem, both in terms of lack of choice and the perceived coercion of choice. The market system also fails to provide relevant and adequate information to facilitate school choice for these consumers. Finally, a special education market system as a specialised market within the education market system is expanding and has led to increasing segregation between schools and between students but not increasing exclusion of these consumers between regular and segregated provisions in relative terms. Based on these problems, some recommendations are made on how the market system may better serve consumers in need of special support. 

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Show all publications by Jude Tah at Stockholm University