Fostering Self-Determination is a Developmental Task

Abstract

The field of special education recognizes the need to foster self-determination among students with disabilities; here we argue that support for self-determination must begin long before students leave schools to assume adult responsibilities of work, independent living, and community participation. We begin by describing developmental investigations of metacognition, self-perception, social problem solving, and autonomous decision making. Because development occurs within the context of interpersonal relationships, we discuss critical attributes of the social environment that must be considered if efforts to support self-determination are to be successful. Our examination of the developmental underpinnings of self-determination leads us to conclude that attention must shift to (a) supporting basic research on the emergence of self-determined behaviors in young children; (b) promoting policies that draw attention to elementary and middle school contributions to self-sufficiency; and (c) ameliorating aspects of the curricular, instructional, and service delivery systems that foster dependence, while expanding students' opportunities to exercise choice and engage in self-enhancing independence.

Enhancing Self-Determination of Culturally Diverse Students With Disabilities: Current Status and Future Directions

“…Similar propositions have been set forth by Sands and Doll (1996) and Ward (1988). According to these researchers, for students to become self-determined, self-determination has to be fostered beginning in early childhood.…”

“How Come Nobody Told Me?” Fostering Self‐Realization Through a High School English Curriculum

“…As students mature and experience the demands of new school and community contexts, embedded opportunities for guided, supported reflection delivered in small packages may be perceived as more acceptable to them-part of an expected, ongoing conversation about learning and developing self-awareness. Importantly, an embedded approach acknowledges the reality that young adults with disabilities need to encounter and explore information about their educational needs repeatedly, over time, and in multiple environments (Field et al, 1997;Sands & Doll, 1996). No single intervention delivered at a single point in time will suffice.…”

Investigating Ongoing Strategic Behaviour of Students with Mild Mental Retardation: Implementation and Relations to Performance in a Problem-solving Situation

“…Finally, teaching students with mental retardation to use self-regulation strategies promotes their learning experience, their adaptive behaviour and self-determination, and their involvement and progress into the context of a general education classroom, enhancing successful inclusion (Agran et ai, 2005;Sands & Doll, 1996;Wehmeyer et ai, 2003). These are important educational outcomes concerning students' future lives.…”

“…Furthermore, they are more likely to undermine their own learning and motivation either by making attributions that reduce future effort or by relying passively on external control that guides them to choose (Sands & Doll, 1996). It has been claimed that, progressively, their dependency on others to provide them with solutions increases, and their autonomy decreases, resulting in little confidence in themselves as learners or problem solvers (Merighi et al, 1990).…”