As an outcome of research and demonstration projects on self-determination for individuals with disabilities, a number of self-determination curricula have been developed in the past few years. However, the effect of self-determination instruction on student self-determination skills remains to be investigated. The present study examined the effect of the Next S. T.E.P. curriculum on self-determination skills of high school students with learning disabilities using an untreated control group design with pretest and posttest. Results indicated that the treatment group gained significantly more on measures of self-determination skills than the control group. Future research is needed to examine the long-term effect of self-determination instruction.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Association on Mental Retardation. ( 1993). Policy positions on legislative and social issues. Washington, DC: author.
2.
Bannerman, D.J., Sheldon, J.B., Sherman, J.A., & Harchik, A.E. (1990). Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberty: The rights of people with developmental disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap. Journal of Behavior Analysis, 23, 79-89.
3.
Bracht, G.H., & Glass, G.V. (1968). The external validity of experiments. American Educational Research Journal, 5, 437-474.
4.
Brown, L., Long, E., Udvari-Solner, A., Davis, L., VanDeventer, P., Ahlgren, C.Johnson, F., Gruenewald, L., & Jorgensen, J. (1989). The home school: Why students with severe intellectual disabilities must attend the schools of their brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 14, 1-7.
5.
Chadsey-Rusch, J., Rusch, F., & O'Reilly, M.F. (1991). Transition from school to integrated communities. Remedial and Special Education , 12, 23-33.
6.
Cook, T.D., & Campbell, D.T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design & analysis issues for field settings. Boston : Houghton Mifflin.
7.
Edgar, E., & Levine, P. (1987). A longitudinal follow-along study of graduates of special education. Child Development and Mental Retardation Center. Seattle, WA: University of Washington, Experimental Education Unit.
8.
Everson, J.M., Zhang, D., & Guillory, J.D. (1997). Summary of focus groups activities. New Orleans, LA: Human Development Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center.
9.
Field, S. (1996). Self-determination instructional strategies for youth with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities , 29, 40-52.
10.
Field, S., Martin, J., Miller, R., Ward, M., & Wehmeyer, M. (1998a). Self-determination for persons with disabilities: A position statement of the Division on Career Development and Transition . Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 21, 113-128.
11.
Field, S., Martin, J., Miller, R., Ward, M., & Wehmeyer, M. (1998b). A practical guide for teaching self-determination . Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children.
12.
Gersten, R., Lloyd, J.W., & Baker, S. (1998). Designing high quality research in special education: Group experimental designs. Paper distributed at the 1998 OSEP Research Project Directors' Conference, Washington, DC.
13.
Halpern, A.S. (1993). Quality of life as a conceptual framework for evaluating transition outcomes. Exceptional Children, 59, 486-498.
14.
Halpern, A.S. (1997). Next S.T.E.P Student transition and educational planning. Unpublished manuscript. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon.
Hinkle, D.E., Wiersma, W., & Jurs, S.G. (1994). Applied statistics for the behavioral sciences . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
17.
Hodell, S.L. (1985). Adult adjustment of the learning disabled versus the monhandicapped five years after high school. Dissertation Abstract International, 46, 121A.
18.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-176, 20 U.S.C. Chapter 33. (1990). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-17, 111 Stat. (1997).
19.
Kennedy, M. (1993). Self-determination. The Newsletter of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 19, 11.
20.
Kranstover, L.L., Thurlow, M.L., & Bruininks, R.H. (1989). Special education graduates versus non-graduates: A longitudinal study of outcomes. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 12, 153-166.
21.
Martin, J.E., Marshall, L.H., & Maxson, L. (1993). Transition policy: Infusing self-determination and self-advocacy into transition programs. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 16, 53-61.
22.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1.2 (a) [3].
23.
Sands, D.J., & Kozleski, E.B. (1994). Quality of life differences between adults with and without disabilities. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 29, 90-101.
24.
Serna, L.A. (1995). Teaching self-determination skills to adolescents . Intervention in School and Clinic, 30, 132-133.
25.
Schalock, R.L., Wolzen, B., Ross, I., Elliott, B., Werbel, G., & Peterson, K. (1986). Postsecondary community placement of handicapped students: A five-year follow-up. Learning Disability Quarterly , 9, 295-302.
26.
Stainback, S., Stainback, W., & Forest, M. (1989). Educating all students in the mainstream of regular education. Baltimore: Brookes.
27.
Stancliffe, R., & Wehmeyer, M.L. (1995). Variability in the availability of choice to adults with mental retardation. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 5, 319-328.
28.
Swanson, H.L. (1993). Selecting a research program in special education: Some advice and generalizations from published research. Remedial and Special Education, 14, 7-20, 27.
29.
Valdes, K.A., Williamson, C.L., & Wagner, M.M. (1990). The national longitudinal transition study of special education students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
30.
Ward, M.J. (1988). The many facets of self-determination. NICHCY Transition Summary: National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, 5, 2-3.
31.
Ward, M.J. (1995). OSERS effort to facilitate self-determination . Intervention in School and Clinic, 30, 132.
32.
Ward, M.J., & Kohler, P. (1996). Promoting self-determination for individuals with disabilities: Content and process. In L. E. Powers, G. H. Slinger, & J. Sowers (Eds.), Making our way: Building self-competence among children and youth with disabilities (pp. 275-290). Baltimore: Brookes.
33.
Wehmeyer, M.L. (1995). The Arc's self-determination scale: Procedural guidelines. Arlington, TX: The Arc .
34.
Wehmeyer, M.L. (1996). Self-determination as an educational outcome: Why is it important to children, youth and adults with disabilities? In D. J. Sands & M. L. Wehmeyer (Eds.), Self-determination in across the life span: Independence and choice for people with disabilities. Baltimore: Brookes.
35.
Wehmeyer, M.L. (1997). Self-determination as an educational outcome: A definitional framework and implications for intervention. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 9, 175-209.
36.
Wehmeyer, M.L., & Berkobien, R. (1991). Self-determination and self-advocacy: A case of mistaken identity. Newsletter of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 17, 4.
37.
Wehmeyer, M.L., & Kelchner, K. (1995). The Arc's self-determination scale (adolescent version). Arlington, TX: The Arc National Headquarters.
38.
Wehmeyer, M., & Schwartz, M. (1997). Self-determination and positive adult outcomes: A follow-up study of youth with mental retardation or learning disabilities . Exceptional Children, 63, 245-255.
39.
Wehmeyer, M.L., & Schwartz, M. (1998). The self-determination focus of transition goals for students with mental retardation. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 21, 75-86.
40.
Wehmeyer, M.L., & Ward, M.J. (1995). The spirit of IDEA mandate: Student involvement in transition planning. Journal of the Association for Vocational Special Needs Education, 17, 108-111.
41.
West, M.D., Barcus, J.M., Brooke, V., & Rayfield, R.G. (1995). An exploratory analysis of self-determination of persons with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 5, 357-364.
42.
Williams, R.R. (1989). Creating a new world of opportunity: Expanding choice and self-determination in lives of American with severe disability by 1992 and beyond. In R. Perske (Ed.), Proceedings from the National Conference on Self-Determination (pp. 16-17). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration.
43.
Wong, B. Y L. (1994). The relevance of longitudinal research to learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 270-274.
44.
Zhang, D. (2000). The effect of self-determination instruction on high school students with mild disabilities. Louisiana Education Research Journal, 25, 29-54.
