The social construction of disability and the capabilities approach: Implications for nursing

Nursing Forum ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 642-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney A. Thurman ◽  
Tracie C. Harrison ◽  
Alexandra A. Garcia ◽  
William M. Sage
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Construction Of Disability ◽  
Social Construction Of Disability

scholarly journals ‘It’s not about disability, I want to win as many medals as possible’: The social construction of disability in high-performance coaching

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C Townsend ◽  
Tabo Huntley ◽  
Christopher J Cushion ◽  
Hayley Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Disability Sport ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Performance Coaching ◽  
The Social ◽  
Construction Of Disability ◽  
Social Construction Of Disability

This article draws on the theoretical concepts of Pierre Bourdieu to provide a critical analysis of the social construction of disability in high-performance sport coaching. Data were generated using a qualitative cross-case comparative methodology, comprising 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in high-performance disability sport, and interviews with coaches and athletes from a cross-section of Paralympic sports. We discuss how in both cases ‘disability’ was assimilated into the ‘performance logic’ of the sporting field as a means of maximising symbolic capital. Furthermore, coaches were socialised into a prevailing legitimate culture in elite disability sport that was reflective of ableist, performance-focused and normative ideologies about disability. In this article we unpack the assumptions that underpin coaching in disability sport, and by extension use sport as a lens to problematise the construction of disability in specific social formations across coaching cultures. In so doing, we raise critical questions about the interrelation of disability and sport.

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