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Parent and Teacher Engagement in Fostering the Self-Determination of Students with Disabilities: A Comparison between the United States and the Republic of China.
by Dalun Zhang , Michael L. Wehmeyer , Li-Ju Chen ABSTRACT This study investigated the behaviors of parents and teachers in the United States and Taiwan in fostering the self-determination of elementary and secondary school students. Participants were parents and teachers of 203 students from the United States and 90 students from Taiwan. Findings indicated that U.S. teachers reported similar levels of engagement in self-determination-fostering behaviors as teachers in Taiwan; U.S. parents reported significantly higher levels of engagement in self-determination-fostering behaviors than parents in Taiwan; in both countries, teachers and parents of secondary school students reported higher levels of engagement than teachers and parents of elementary school students; and country differences and teacher-parent differences were related to some specific items. Interpretations of these findings and their implications for parent and teacher education and cultural differences are discussed. OVER THE PAST DECADE, THERE HAS BEEN A growing recognition that enhanced self-determination and active student involvement in educational planning and decision making are critical to the successful transition from school to adulthood for adolescents with disabilities (e.g., Algozzine, Browder, Karvonen, Test, & Wood, 2001; Field, Martin, Miller, Ward, & Wehmeyer, 1998a; Wehmeyer, 1997). The Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) emphasized the importance of empowerment and self-determination to transition (Field, Martin, Miller, Ward, & Wehmeyer, 1998b). Research findings have bolstered this position by confirming a strong relationship between student level of self-determination and the attainment of more positive adult outcomes for transitioning youth. Studies in the early 1990s found that individuals with disabilities were overall not very self-determined, particularly in the areas of independent living (e.g., location, roommates) and jobs (e.g., Sands & Kozleski, 1994; Wehmeyer & Kelchner, 1995; Wehmeyer & Metzler, 1995). More recent studies have found that self-determined young people leave school to attain more positive adult outcomes, particularly in employment (Field & Hoffman, 2002; Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 1998a), access to health and other benefits, financial independence, and independent living (Wehmeyer & Palmer, 2003). The increasingly evident relationship between self-determination and more positive adult outcomes has produced an emphasis on instruction to promote self-determination and enhanced student involvement (Wehman, 1998). For example, Wehmeyer and colleagues (Agran, Blanchard, & Wehmeyer, 2000; Palmer, Wehmeyer, Gipson, & Agran, 2005; Wehmeyer, Palmer, Agran, Mithaug, & Martin, 2000) have developed and validated a model of teaching, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, which is based on principles of self-determination and student-directed learning and enables teachers to support students to self-regulate educational goal setting, action planning, and evaluation. Students involved in instruction from teachers using the model, including both adolescents and young children with cognitive and developmental disabilities, were able to self-direct educational goal setting and attainment and to become more self-determined. Similarly, Martin et al. (2003) showed that through the use of self-determination contracts, students could learn to self-regulate academic outcomes, identify their own self-directed pursuits, and attain their own goals. Algozzine et al. (2001) conducted a review of the literature pertaining to the impact of instruction on promoting self-determination-related skills. The average effect size (ES) across group design studies (n = 22) was 1.38, with a standard deviation of 3.74 and a standard error of 0.37. The ES measurements indicated that most studies reported changes in self-determination-related outcomes reflective of a moderate gain as a result of instructional interventions. The single-subject studies (n = 13) demonstrated stronger effect sizes. The median percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) between the treatment and baseline phases was 95%, with a range of 64% to 100%, indicating that participants acquired skills related to self-determination at a relatively high level. Similarly, Test et al. (2004) conducted a review of the literature examining the impact of interventions promoting student involvement in educational planning. They found that across 12 quantitative studies, there was almost universal evidence that students could increase their involvement in educational planning and decision making and, when evaluated, enhance their self-determination. Surveys of teachers have consistently found that special educators are aware of the self-determination construct and believe it is important for more positive student outcomes, but in too many cases, the educators do not implement instructional strategies targeting enhanced self-determination (Mason, Field, & Sawilowsky, 2004; Thoma, Nathanson, Baker, & Tamura, 2002; Wehmeyer, Agran, & Hughes, 2000) and, generally, do not include goals to promote self-determination in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs; Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 1998b). The reasons for this situation ...
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