DESCRIPTORS: transition, self-determination
SYNOPSIS: Self-determination is a key concept in transition; however, many students with disabilities are completing high school and entering adult life without being able to make their own choices or determine the course of their lives. Since transition is now a critical component and mandated by law, teaching students with disabilities how to be self-determined is now of paramount importance.

***

Introduction

Many students with disabilities experience significant difficulties transitioning from high school “into their next environment as young adults in the community” (Halpern, 1994, p. 116) because they do not have the necessary skills, abilities, or knowledge to be successful.  Although the United States government has placed a greater emphasis on career-vocational development and community-based learning for students with disabilities, many secondary teachers experience difficulty with providing transition services and promoting access to the general education curriculum, also required by law, at the same time (Kochhar-Bryant & Bassett, 2002).  Schools tend to focus less on transition services and more on student academic achievement to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Bowen & Rude, 2006) (Johnson, Stodden, Emanuel, Luecking, & Mack, 2002).  In addition, the Race to the Top Program was established in 2009 to provide funding to states to develop ... assessments that are valid, support and inform instruction, provide accurate information about what students know and can do, and measure student achievement against standards designed to ensure that all students gain the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and the workplace.  (U. S. Department of Education, 2010, Program Description section, para. 1)

The United States Government clearly places an emphasis on academic achievement; therefore, developing “effective instructional strategies to align these . . . educational initiatives for youth with disabilities” (Suk-Hyang, Wehmeyer, Palmer, Soukup, & Little, 2008, p. 92) would provide these students with the necessary skills, abilities and knowledge to achieve more positive post-school outcomes.  One such strategy is self-determination, which “has become best practice in transition services” (Suk-Hyang et al., 2008, p. 92).  Teaching self-determination concepts as part of the curriculum when they start school will enable students with disabilities to learn the necessary skills, abilities and knowledge for positive post-school outcomes.

Importance of Self-Determination

Self-determination is a construct – a combination of skills, abilities and knowledge that enables an individual to make choices and decisions that affect the course of one’s life without undue external influence or interference (Wehmeyer, 1992, p. 3).  People make decisions every day – what time to wake up in the morning, what to eat, what to wear – based on what each person knows or information that they glean from other people.

The United States’ current educational system provides education for students with disabilities based on their unique needs as determined by extensive testing and information provided by adults around them, not information gathered from students themselves.  Many of these students do not have personal preferences nor do they know what their needs are because other people manage their lives for them, as noted by Cross, Cooke, and Wood (1999):

... many youth and adults with disabilities are ill prepared to exercise their rights. Because of our country's history of having other people (professionals and parents) making most major life decisions for people with disabilities, actualizing the concept of self-determination now requires that we spend considerable effort to train children, youth, and adults with disabilities on how to be self-determining citizens.  (pp. 499-500)

Disabilities and the Law

Laws, beginning with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, have been implemented to protect the rights of students with disabilities and ensure they receive “a free and appropriate education” (National Federation of the Blind, 1987).  The education a student receives is based on his needs as determined by an appropriate evaluation, which assesses “the student in all areas of suspected disability” (Gibb & Dyches, 2007, p. 2).  Once a student enters school, academics are the highest priority.  Students are taught to read, write, and do mathematical calculations.  When students are unable to meet the general education requirements, they are referred for special education services.  Some students with disabilities are placed in self-contained classrooms, while others spend time between a “resource room” and a general education classroom.  Still others are in general education classrooms with supports.  Students with disabilities are those children:

(i) with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance ..., orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and
(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.  (United States Government, 2006, Section 1401, para. 3(A))

Disabilities are grouped into four major categories:  health impaired, physical disabilities, emotional disturbances, and learning disabilities.  Each person’s disabilities are unique to that individual.  One person might have more severe health impairments than someone else, while a third may have health impairments as well as learning difficulties.  Even though each individual’s disability is different, many students with disabilities have similar difficulties in school.

Once a student is determined to have a disability that precludes progress in a general education classroom without supports, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed to assist the student in meeting academic, social, and functional living skill goals.  The IEP is developed by a team, consisting of the student’s parents or legal guardians, the special education teacher, a general education teacher (if the student is in general education classes), someone who can interpret test results (usually the school psychologist), and any other individuals “who have special knowledge or special expertise regarding the student” (Gibb & Dyches, 2007, p, 5).  The only member of the team whose participation is not mandatory is the student himself, which is surprising given that the student should have specific knowledge and expertise about his own skills, abilities, and knowledge that can be used in support of his IEP.

The United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34:  Education, Part 300, Section 321(a), IEP Team, includes the student with disabilities as a member of the IEP team “whenever appropriate” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010a).  Section 321(b) describes the “Transition Services Participants” and states that the student himself must be invited to the transition IEP meeting, and if he is unable to participate, steps must be taken to ensure his preferences and interests are considered (U.S. Department of Education, 2010a).  Transition planning is required to be in place by the time the student turns 16, which means that he must be able to make major life choices by that time.  However, if other people make major life decisions for the student with disabilities prior to age 16, he will not be able to develop personal preferences and interests simply because he would have had no experience with making independent choices.

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was updated in 1990 and became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  In 1997, the IDEA was updated again to ensure that transition planning became a critical part of a student’s with disabilities IEP.  Public Law 101-476 states, “Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that ... Is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010a, Transition Services section 300.43, para. (a)(2)).   Because transition planning is crucial to a student’s with disabilities post-school success, a complete transition plan is required to be in place by the time the student is 16 years old.  However, students must meet academic standards before they can graduate; therefore, most are 16 before transition planning even begins.
Cross, Cooke, and Wood (1999) state:

The self-determination (SD) movement is probably the most important initiative in the fields of special education and rehabilitation today. The right to make one's own decisions about life and future is viewed as an inalienable right by American adults without disabilities and yet has only recently been recognized for individuals with disabilities.  (pp. 499-500)

History of Transition

Thoma, Baker, and Saddler (2002) state “Since the mid-1980s, increasing attention has been given to preparing students with disabilities for life after high school” (p. 82).  Even so, transition programs for students with disabilities, such as career development and transition systems, have been in place in one form or another since the work-study programs of the 1960s.  These early programs were developed specifically to prepare “these students [with mental retardation] to obtain jobs and enjoy a satisfactory level of ‘community adjustment’ after leaving school” (Halpern, 1994, p. 116).  The concept of career education was introduced in 1971, which was adopted by many special educators “as a more appropriate educational design for students with various types of learning disabilities” (Brolin, 1987, p. 51).  Career education became a national priority, and the Council of Exceptional Children organized a new Division of Career Development in 1976 to support the career education initiative.  In 1978, the Division took the following position on career education for people with disabilities:

Career education provides the opportunity for children to learn, in the least restrictive environment possible, the academic, daily living, personal-social and occupational knowledge and specific vocational work skills necessary for attaining their highest levels of economic, personal and social fulfillment.  (Halpern, 1994, p. 116)

This view of career education for students with disabilities set the stage for the development of a new federal initiative known as transition.  Over the next few years, the transition initiative was expanded beyond employment and career education to include a broader set of outcomes, such as “employment, community living, transportation, and recreational supports” (Thoma, Baker, & Saddler, 2002, p. 82).  In 1990, transition became part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and in 1997, the IDEA Amendments made transition “a critical mandate and component of the law” (Steere & Cavaiuolo, 2002, p. 55).  The IDEA was reauthorized in 2004; at which time, transition services were defined as
a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that—

(A) is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
(B) is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; and
(C) includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.  (U.S. Department of Education, 2010b, Section 602 Definitions, para. 34)

Self-determination

Traditionally, the focus of transition has been “centered on the work of teachers, transition specialists, adult support agencies, and parents” (Thoma et al., 2002, p. 82), and not on the individual student.  Federal law requires transition planning consider student interests and preferences when planning for the student’s transition from high school to adult life.  Special educators focus primarily on academic achievement rather than functional living skills because they assume that students must meet academic standards before finishing high school.  Nancy Harriman conducted interviews of educators and students in 2005 to “obtain insights into the views of teachers and students on the No Child Left Behind Act, specifically with reference to the provisions for accountability for student achievement” (Harriman, 2005, p. 65).  Even though the study population was small, rural school districts, this author found similar results in conversations with larger school districts in the Puget Sound area in Washington State.  Overall, the results of the study pointed to educators having less time for improvisation and “teachable moments” and being required to spend more time ensuring that students meet academic standards.  The conclusion of the study states:

For special educators in rural schools, in particular, the greatest challenge is perceived to be finding time to balance the often apparently competing demands of existing initiatives such as curriculum of place, community involvement, and development of functional skills, with additional demands imposed by No Child Left Behind, such as more advanced content area instruction, preparation for standardized tests, and time consuming alternative assessment procedures.  (Harriman, 2005, p. 69)

With the focus primarily on academic achievement and less on functional skill achievement, students with disabilities are less prepared to be self-determined individuals who have interests and preferences regarding their futures.  Therefore, this author believes that they are less capable of communicating those interests and preferences than students without disabilities who have significantly less difficulty meeting academic standards.  Students with learning and related disabilities have difficulty managing information; for example, they struggle with creating or applying filters to information in the same manner as other people do.  Developmental theory for students with learning disabilities suggests “[t]he educational environment may actually hinder rather than assist the child’s learning by making intellectual demands that require cognitive abilities that the child may not have yet developed” (Lerner & Johns, 2009, p. 159).  As a result, students with disabilities require more time to learn academic skills; therefore, the higher the standard, the more time is required for learning and less time is available for functional skill achievement.

According to Hong, Ivy, Gonzalez, and Ehrensberger (2007), students with disabilities experience deficits in the following skills:  problem-solving, self‑-evaluation, monitoring, and communication (p. 35).  A lack of skills in these areas results in students with disabilities having to rely on others.  For example, poor problem-solving skills means that students are more likely to accept what’s being offered even though it may not be sufficient, appropriate, or correctly delivered.  Students with disabilities often do  not know how to “fix” problems with their learning or comprehension due to poor self-regulation, self-knowledge, and self-advocacy skills (Hong et al., 2007, p. 34).  If these students were allowed to progress at their own pace and not the pace that is required by the educational system, the belief is that they would gain the necessary knowledge and experience and not develop learning disabilities along the way.

If students with disabilities are unable to direct or affect their own success, they cannot be expected to manage their own lives when they finish high school.  However, that is exactly what is expected of them.  Most states grant children adult status when they turn 18 years old, and they are expected to make their own life choices about where to work, live, who their friends are or will be, and so on.  Students with disabilities are not able to make those same choices on their own because adults have made decisions for them, regardless of their interests, most of their lives.  For example, the IDEA of 1997 requires all students who have IEPs to be invited to their IEP meeting beginning at age 14 and older.  Many students do attend the meetings; however, “a significant number ... are not involved” (Johnson et al., 2002, p. 526).  Therefore, transition must based on the individual student’s preferences and interests, which requires self-determination.

One reason why students do not participate in their transition planning may be due to the lack of ability to make their own choices or express their own preferences; in other words, they are not self-determinant.  Therefore, teaching students with disabilities to be self-determined is a necessary and critical part of their development and education.  Self-determined behavior can be identified by four characteristics, which define the behavior:  (1) autonomous actions; (2) self-regulated behaviors; (3) initiating and responding to events as empowered; and (4) acting in self-realizing manner (Wehmeyer, Agran, & Hughes, 2000, p. 59).  Essentially, people are not considered self-determined based on what actions they take, but on the purpose of those actions; for example, a person enrolls in a college course (an action) for the purpose of learning skills that will allow him to become financially independent (the purpose).

The component elements of self-determination “include, but are not limited to, choice and decision-making skills, problem solving skills, goal setting and attainment skills, self-management skills, self-advocacy skills, positive perceptions of control and efficacy, and self-knowledge and self-awareness” (Wehmeyer et al., 2000, p. 59).  Because students with disabilities have an extensive network of support to determine their educational needs, they must be encouraged as early as possible in their education to develop the necessary skills to be self-determinant.  More attention is being placed on preparing students for adult life; therefore, students must be taught the necessary skills.

Conclusion

In general, students with disabilities are not explicitly taught self-determination skills.  As previously discussed, many students with disabilities require instruction to develop these skills, abilities, and knowledge.  For example, those with learning disabilities or autism lack social skills and the ability to observe and learn from those observations.  Many of their peers without disabilities learn self-determined behavior through observing and modeling others.

Transition requires students to be self-determined.  The Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment outlines seven transition steps, which are student-focused and driven:  (1) student actively participates in IEP planning process; (2) student completes a three-part transition assessment process; (3) student writes own transition summary of educational performance; (4) student develops course of study; (5) student assists in developing postschool linkages; (6) student attains own IEP and personal goals; and (7) student develops own summary of performance (Zarrow Center, 2010).  These steps are based on transition as described in Public Law 101-476.

Without an awareness of likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, or even their interests, students with disabilities would not be capable of successfully transitioning from high school to work or college or independent living.  Models, such as the Self-Determination Model of Instruction (Wehmeyer, Palmer, Agran, Mithaug, & Martin, 2000), the McGill Action Planning System (MAPS), the ChoiceMaker Curriculum (Cross et al., 1999), Group Action Planning, Personal Futures Planning, and Lifestyle Planning, to name a few, are available for teaching self-determination; however, self-determination must be taught when these students begin school, such as in the elementary grades, and students must be encouraged to use the skills, abilities, and knowledge throughout their school career in order to successfully transition from one grade to the next and to make appropriate choices to ensure their success after completing high school.

An evaluation of existing state academic standards is recommended to determine if they contain self-determination skills.  Based on a similar study conducted in the State of Virginia, Washington State academic standards might not be limited to academics.  For example, one Virginia mathematics standard includes the verbiage:  “The student will interpret information displayed in a picture or object graph, using the vocabulary more, less, fewer, greater than, less than, and   equal to”  (Virginia Department of Education, 2010, p. 20).  Being self-determined includes the abilities to make choices, solve problems, set and attain goals; therefore, students who are able to interpret information exhibit self-determination.  In meeting these academic standards, the student is learning to be self-determined, as well as meeting transition goals.  Therefore, academic achievement and transition planning are of equal importance, not one moreso than the other.

References

Bowen, S. K., & Rude, H. A. (2006). Assessment and students with disabilities: Issues and challenges with educational reform. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 25(3), 24-30.
Brolin, D. E. (1987). Career education:  A continuing high priority for educating exceptional students. Journal of Career Development, 13(3), 50-56.
Cross, T., Cooke, N. L., & Wood, W. M. (1999). Comparison of the effects of MAPS and ChoiceMaker on student self-determination skills. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 34(4), 499-510.
Diaz-Greenberg, R., Thousand, J., Cardelle-Elawar, M., & Nevin, A. (2000). What teachers need to know about the struggle for self-determination (conscientization) and self-regulation:  Adult with disabilities speak about their education experiences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 873-887.
Gibb, G. S., & Dyches, T. T. (2007). Guide to writing quality individualized education programs (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Halpern, A. S. (1994). The transition of youth with disabilities to adult life:  A position statement of the division on the career development and transition, council for exceptional children. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 17(2), 115-124.
Harriman, N. E. (2005). Perceptions of students and educators on the impact of no child left behind: Some will and some won't. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 24(1), 64-69.
Hong, B. S. S., Ivy, W. F., Gonzalez, H. R., & Ehrensberger, W. (2007). Preparing students for post-secondary education. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(1), 32-38.
Johnson, D. R., Stodden, R. A., Emanuel, E. J., Luecking, R., & Mack, M. (2002). Current challenges facing secondary education and transition services:  What research tells us. Exceptional Children, 68(4), 519-531.
Kochhar-Bryant, C. A., & Bassett, D. S. (2002). Challenge and promise in aligning transition and standards-based education. In C. A. Kochhar-Bryant, & D. S. Bassett (Eds.), Aligning transition and standards-based education:  Issues and strategies ( pp. 1-24). Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.
Lerner, J. W., & Johns, B. (2009). Learning disabilities and related mild disabilities:  Characteristics, teaching strategies, and new directions. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
National Federation of the Blind. (1987). PL-94-142: WHAT DOES IT REALLY SAY?. Retrieved 5/29, 2010, from http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Publications/fr/fr6/Issue1/f060113.html
Steere, D. E., & Cavaiuolo, D. (2002). Connecting outcomes, goals, and objectives in transition planning. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(6), 54-59.
Suk-Hyang, L., Wehmeyer, M. L., Palmer, S. B., Soukup, J. H., & Little, T. D. (2008). Self-determination and access to the general education curriculum. Journal of Special Education, 42(2), 91-107.
Test, D. W., Browder, D. M., Karvonen, M., Wood, W., & Algozzine, B. (2002). Writing lesson plans for promoting self-determination. TEACHING Exceptional Children, Sept./Oct., 8-14.
Thoma, C. A., Baker, S. R., & Saddler, S. J. (2002). Self-determination in teacher education:  A model to facilitate transition planning for students with disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 23(2), 82-89.
U. S. Department of Education. (2010). Race to the top assessment program. Retrieved 6/28, 2010, from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.html
U.S. Department of Education. (2010a). Electronic code of federal regulations:  Title 34:  Education. Retrieved 4/18, 2010, from http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=34fe65f6d605c52a94aeb84608995694&rgn=div5&view=text&node=34:2.1.1.1.1&idno=34#34:2.1.1.1.1.1.36.42
U.S. Department of Education. (2010b). IDEA -- building the legacy of IDEA 2004. Retrieved 6/29, 2010, from http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cstatute%2CI%2CA%2C602%2C
United States Government. (2006). TITLE 20--EDUCATION:  CHAPTER 33--EDUCATION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES:  SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS:  Sec. 1401. definitions. Retrieved 8/11, 2008, from http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+20USC1401
Virginia Department of Education. (2010). Comparison of Virginia’s 2009 mathematics standards of learning with the common core state standards for mathematics:  Preliminary analysis. Unpublished manuscript.
Wehmeyer, M. (1992). Self-determination: Critical skills for outcome-oriented transition services. Journal for Vocational Special Needs Education, 15(1), 3-7.
Wehmeyer, M. L., Agran, M., & Hughes, C. (2000). A national survey of teachers' promotion of self-determination and student-directed learning. The Journal of Special Education, 34(2), 58-68.
Wehmeyer, M. L., Palmer, S. B., Agran, M., Mithaug, D. E., & Martin, J. E. (2000). Promoting causal agency: The self-determination learning model of instruction. Exceptional Children, 66(4), 439-53.
Zarrow Center. (2010). Week-by-week content | zarrow center | college of education | university of oklahoma. Retrieved 4/18, 2010, from http://education.ou.edu/zarrow/?p=37&z=127&g=132