Exploring the Dynamics of Social Exclusion: Subjective Approach, Identity and Agency—an Experience Study of Physically Young Disabled in Shenzhen, China

Background and purpose: The social exclusion of the disabled has attracted increasing attention from scholars in recent decades in China. Studies on social exclusion experiences of the disabled are more discussed on the macro-structural level, with less concern on the individual level. By reviewing the history of the disability rights movement, the narration of personal experiences has played a crucial role in advocating social welfare for the disabled. Previous views on defining disability as physical barriers and understanding the disabled of being forced to live with stigma have been undergoing a transition towards the adoption of a social model of disability, which defines disability as social barriers and highlights the construction of a positive identity.

This research aims to explore the personal experiences of social exclusion of young disabled in mainland China from the aspects of education, employment, and social relations from subjective approach, moreover, to understand the formation of identity as well as agency in these experiences.

Methods: Based on the research purposes and questions, this study adopted an interpretivist paradigm and qualitative research as the methodology. This study conducted 19 in-depth interviews with physically young disabled and related people such as social workers, employees of disability organization and parents as caregivers in Shenzhen. Participants were recruited by purposive sampling with regard to specific criteria.

Findings and Discussions: This study obtained two theoretical advancements. Firstly, it challenged the dominant discourse of one-way social exclusion process and broke through the division between the individual model and social model of disability. It is suggested that young disabled gain social support and bear social exclusion at the same time. Analyzing social exclusion from their lived experience, it dramatically shows the interaction between the individual and the society. Secondly, this research broadened the application of social exclusion theory by involving concepts of identity formation and agency. It examined the excluded and self-excluded identities of young disabled, and showed the formation process among the interplay of social subjects and contexts in micro-sphere, meso-sphere and macro-sphere. Meanwhile, findings showed that the agency of the excluded youth has positive impacts on their social inclusion experiences and identities.

Two social welfare implications have been drawn from this study. Firstly, by exploring the individual experience within social welfare systems, the results highlight the importance of primary level disability organizations, and that a “bottom-up” approach to disability policy formulation should be considered. Secondly, the research findings recognized the supportive role of family in the Chinese culture context, as the family has positive impact on mitigating the social exclusion experiences, facilitating the formation of identities, and enhancing the agency of young disabled, however, there are limited policies to support the families with disabled.

Above all, As an exploratory research, this study provides a comprehensive description of the social exclusion experiences of physically disabled youth in China, these discussions give valuable references for further studies in this area.