Tracing the Biologistic Ability Paradigm in Danish Special Education: A Historical Inquiry into Three Danish Welfare State Contexts, 1923–2023

Authors

  • Christian Ydesen University of Zürich
  • Bjørn F. Hamre University of Copenhagen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36368/njedh.v12i2.1312

Keywords:

biologistic ability paradigm, special education, IQ testing, Danish welfare state, educational governance, psychiatry, childpsychiatry

Abstract

This article explores the role of the biologistic ability paradigm in Danish special education across three historical contexts (1923–2023). It examines how biologistic notions of intelligence and ability have shaped educational policies and practices within the Danish welfare state. Using a diachronic and comparative approach, the study highlights shifts in how special education has been used to classify, optimise, and manage population diversity. It discusses the influence of psychology, psychiatry, and IQ testing in shaping student differentiation and governance. The article argues that contemporary policies on gifted education and intelligence screening reflect a reconfiguration of biologistic reasoning, aligning with broader shifts toward competitiveness and individual optimisation in education. Ultimately, it demonstrates how biologistic ability paradigms have evolved as tools of governance, influencing both inclusivity and exclusion within the educational system.

Author Biographies

Christian Ydesen, University of Zürich

Chair in History of Education and Education Policy Analysis at the Department of Education

Bjørn F. Hamre, University of Copenhagen

Associate Professor of Education at the Section of Educational Studies

Downloads

Published

2025-11-24

How to Cite

Ydesen, Christian, and Bjørn F. Hamre. 2025. “Tracing the Biologistic Ability Paradigm in Danish Special Education: A Historical Inquiry into Three Danish Welfare State Contexts, 1923–2023”. Nordic Journal of Educational History 12 (2):13-36. https://doi.org/10.36368/njedh.v12i2.1312.

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2025): Special Issue: Exploring the History of Pupils with Disabilities in Welfare States

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Christian Ydesen, Bjørn F. Hamre

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open access journal, which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles featured in the journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with definition of open access as formulated by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). All authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the NJEdH the right of first publication. The work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows others to share and distribute the work as long as it is attributed to the author and its initial publication in the NJEdH is acknowledged.
  2. Authors are encouraged to distribute the work themselves with information on its initial publication in the NJEdH, e.g. upload it to open repositories linked to their personal website or institutional affiliation, or publish it in a book.

The NJEdH is permitted non-exclusive distribution of the work, with attribution to the author, e.g. in a print book themed anthology.