Experiences of College Students With Disabilities and the Importance of Self-Determination in Higher Education Settings

Abstract

Although the literature is clear that self-determination is an important component of the transition planning process for students with disabilities preparing for postsecondary education, further studies are needed to explore what self-determination strategies these students use to remain in college and successfully meet the challenges in postsecondary education settings. This article describes a study conducted with postsecondary education students in 2- and 4-year college settings to (a) identify skills that effective self-advocates use to ensure they stay in college and obtain needed supports and (b) identify the essential self-determination skills needed to remain and persist in college. Findings from the study and implications for postsecondary education and secondary education are discussed.

A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship of Transition Preparation and Self-Determination for Students With Disabilities in Postsecondary Educational Settings

“…The results of this study also demonstrate moderate support for considering self-determination-as represented here in the constructs of hope, psychological empowerment, and locus of controlas a critical foundation for success in postsecondary settings for students with disabilities (Durlak et al, 1994;Getzel & Thoma, 2008;Jameson, 2007).…”

“…Increasing the self-determination of students with disabilities while in high school is a promising approach to improving postsecondary educational outcomes (Getzel, & Thoma, 2008;Harris & Robertson, 2001). Additionally, transition programs that encourage active family engagement and high expectations among families and students appears to be beneficial .…”

“…355, Section 508 as amended 29 U.S.C. § 794 (d) and was fully accessible to screen readers used by individuals with visual impairments.The scales chosen assessed certain dimensions of selfdetermination that have been identified as variables influencing postsecondary success: self-advocacy, self-efficacy, internal locus of control, and capacity for goal setting and decision making (Getzel & Thoma, 2008;Jameson, 2007;Thoma & Getzel, 2005). The Psychological Empowerment scale (Wehmeyer & Kelchner, 1995) was selected because it measures perceived levels of internal locus of control, selfefficacy, and outcome expectancy.…”

How well does the Theory of Planned Behavior predict graduation among college and university students with disabilities?

“…The literature suggests unique predictors of persistence and drop-out for this group (Koch, Mamiseishvili, and Higgins, 2014;Mamiseishvili and Koch, 2011;Getzel and Thoma, 2008). For example, needed academic supports are not always available (e.g., Christ and Stodden, 2005;Tagayuna, Stodden, Chang, Zeleznik, and Whelley, 2005).…”

“…Other investigations use "graduating in prescribed time" (i.e., the time prescribed for the program of study -e.g., Jorgensen et al, 2005) while others evaluate graduation two, five or even 10 years after "prescribed time." Several longitudinal studies suggest that persistence rates of students with and without disabilities are similar when the possibility of longer times to graduate are taken into account (Jorgensen, Ferraro, Fichten, and Havel, 2009;Jorgensen, et al, 2005;O'Neill, Markward, and French, 2012;Wessel, Jones, Markle, and Westfall, 2009), although others have indicated that this is not the case (Getzel and Thoma, 2008;Lombardi, Murray, and Gerdes, 2012). Thus, definitive information about whether students with and without disabilities differ on grades or graduation is not available.…”