Going beyond Environment to Context: Leveraging the Power of Context to Produce Change

Abstract

This article discusses the processes and implications of going beyond environment to context. The article (a) provides an operational definition of context; (b) describes a multidimensional model of context that views context as being multilevel, multifactorial, and interactive; (c) describes how conceptual models of quality of life, human rights, and human functioning can be used in conjunction with the multidimensional model of context to identify opportunities and develop context-based change strategies that improve quality of life, human rights, and human functioning outcomes; and (d) describes a four-step approach to leveraging an understanding of context to produce change. The article concludes with a discussion of the advantages of and barriers to moving beyond environment to context.

Self-Determination in People with Intellectual Disability: The Mediating Role of Opportunities

“…In other words, self-determination promotion should start by enhancing opportunities (mediating variables) so as to cause changes in the expected outcome, which is in the level of self-determination. However, further work is needed to operationalize how these contextual opportunities have to be built, considering the interaction between the different levels and factors [ 25 ] in order to propel self-determination development.…”

“…Higher support needs, and specifically the intellectual disability level, has traditionally been associated with self-determination, with lower levels of self-determination being reported for people with severe and profound intellectual disability [ 24 ]. Seeing people as more or less capable of acting in a self-determined manner can clearly determine the frequency and quality of opportunities given in their contexts; thus, aligning with an understanding of the context as interactive amongst multilevel (involving micro, meso, and macro level) and multifactor variables such as culture or family embedded conceptions and dynamics [ 25 ]. Setting the environment for the person with intellectual disability to act in a self-determined manner might not be enough if the levels and factors influencing opportunities are not identified and manipulated to enhance self-determination.…”

“…Setting the environment for the person with intellectual disability to act in a self-determined manner might not be enough if the levels and factors influencing opportunities are not identified and manipulated to enhance self-determination. Following Schalock, Luckasson, and Shogren [ 25 ], in order to identify and create appropriate opportunities, several models such as quality of life, human rights, human functioning and multidimensional context model should be combined together. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is still scarce research on this topic, and given its complexity, an in-depth approach of the role of environmental opportunities in self-determination development urges.…”

Leveraging the Power of Context in Disability Policy Development, Implementation, and Evaluation: Multiple Applications to Enhance Personal Outcomes

“…In addition to these five guidelines, policy evaluation requires an operationalization framework to analyze the impact of contextual factors on human functioning and personal outcomes. As discussed in Schalock et al (2020), five steps are involved in developing and implementing an operationalization framework. These five are to (a) define the practices in question, (b) select outcome areas and outcome indicators, (c) gather evidence, (d) establish the credibility of the evidence, and (d) evaluate the relation between practice(s) and outcome(s).…”

A multiple case study investigating changes in organizations serving residents with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours

“…Their perspectives should be considered in future research. Additionally, focus groups have limitations, which we tried to manage by providing clear action plans, using independent and (Schalock et al, 2020;Shogren et al, 2018Shogren et al, , 2020.…”