F.01. Ageing with Disability, Life Projects and Democratic Citizenship: Rethinking Special Pedagogy for Older Adults

Democratic education is lifelong and must include older adults who have lived with disability since childhood or early adulthood. Ageing with disability (AWD) raises specific challenges: early onset of frailty, fragmented welfare systems, and the risk of “double vulnerability” due to ageism and ableism. The panel addresses AWD as a crucial testing ground for the education–democracy nexus.

Building on international frameworks (UN CRPD, EU Disability Strategy) and recent reforms that introduce individualized, participatory life projects, the panel explores how special pedagogy can translate rights into everyday practices of inclusion for older persons with disabilities. Particular attention is given to self-determination as a human right and pedagogical principle, the design of “Life Project” that integrate social, educational and care dimensions, and the role of communities and long-term care services in sustaining quality of life and active citizenship in later life.

We welcome theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions that: (a) analyse AWD between disability and ageing studies; (b) explore narratives of older persons with disabilities and their families, including co-ageing and “voicelessness”; (c) investigate community-based and intergenerational practices, as well as digital and technological inclusion, that counter isolation and institutionalization; (d) discuss professional training for educators and practitioners as democratic “brokers” between law, services and everyday life.

The panel aims to gather scholars and practitioners from pedagogy, sociology, social work and gerontology to reframe ageing with disability not as a mere problem of care, but as a time of citizenship, learning and participation.