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'You can't do it ... it's theory rather than practice': staff use of the practice/principle rhetorical device in talk on empowering people with learning disabilities

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY, UK, t.jingree{at}surrey.ac.uk

W.M.L. Finlay

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY, UK

This study explores the discourses of support staff of people with learning disabilities talking about how choices and control are promoted or denied for service-users. A semi-structured interview based on issues identified in the White Paper 'Valuing People' was administered to 15 professional care-givers of people with learning disabilities. These were transcribed and analysed using discourse analysis. The analysis demonstrated the use of two dominant discursive themes: increasing autonomy and practicalities talk. These themes were frequently mobilized together in a manner that paralleled what Wetherell et al. (1987) termed a 'practice/ principle rhetorical device,' to argue against increasing choices and control. The implications of this are discussed, as are the subject positions offered to staff and service-users.

Key Words: choice • control • discourse analysis • empowerment • intellectual disability • learning disability

Discourse & Society, Vol. 19, No. 6, 705-726 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0957926508095890


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