This contribution sheds light on potential shifts in the perception of vulnerabilities and their impact on institutionalised education and care from the perspective of those who may have been, remain, or have become (even more) vulnerable. Rather than affixing the label of "vulnerability" to a particular subpopulation or seeing vulnerability (solely) as an inherent characteristic in individuals, we follow Luna (2019), who proposes a contextual understanding of vulnerability. She develops an understanding that the vulnerabilities might be subject to change if situational contexts change, such as that an individual is no longer or even more susceptible to vulnerability. Crises, as in our case, the COVID-19 crisis, can serve as an excellent example of unravelling the multilayeredness and potential cascading effects of vulnerability itself and the diversity among those being perceived as vulnerable. As indicated in this symposium's umbrella text, individual dispositions of becoming vulnerable have to be seen in relation to contextual factors. In crises and their aftermath, well-established, inscribed, or outdated institutional logics that often control or guide vulnerable peoples' lives may be shattered or exacerbated. Support structures, processes, and interrelations may be subject to dysfunction, disruption, or new orders. Shocks to the system during COVID are being addressed and negotiated from an abstract or institutional perspective (Mladenov & Brennan, 2021), seldomly do those who might or have been affected get a say. The research project "Cov_Enable: Reimagining Vulnerabilities in times of crisis" (FWF Project P 34641) has been tracking some of these developments. It aims to shed light on how conceptions of vulnerability are being reshaped and travel between the political-, organisational- and individual levels (Subasi-Singh, 2022). In particular, it wants to disentangle how (new) discourses and practice (formations) in the contexts of (inclusive) education and (supported) living are impacting children, youth, and adults labeled as vulnerable. In this presentation, we will use selected samples of first-hand accounts of students and adults with disabilities from two contrasting lifeworlds and governing institutional systems in the fields of schools and supported living of remaining, recently being made (further), and or no longer being vulnerable. We aim to elucidate an understanding of the multilayered-ness and contextual interdependency of varied institutional changes in response to crises and the diverse forms of individual and collective (political) agency and how these are being enabled or suppressed by institutional actors.

Luna, F. (2019). Identifying and evaluating layers of vulnerability–a way forward. developing world bioethics, 19(2), 86-95. Mladenov, T., & Brennan, C. S. (2021). The global COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor: Implementation, findings, disability studies response. Disability & society, 36(8), 1356-1361. Subasi-Singh, S. (2022). Putting on Intersectional Glasses: Listening to the Voice of the Vulnerable. Social Inclusion, 11(1).