How Teachers Address Self-Determination Skills for Elementary Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study

An essential component of post-secondary success for students in special education is the development of self-determination skills, such as understanding abilities and goal setting. Self-determination skills can lead to higher levels of employment and quality of life and the teaching of self-determination skills has been shown to have a positive effect on post-secondary transition for students in special education. The intellectually disabled population is unsuccessful in post-secondary life, raising concerns regarding self-determination skill development for students with an intellectual disability (ID). Specifically, the problem addressed in this study was that research does not focus on the isolated population of students with an ID or the possibility of teaching foundational self-determination skills in elementary school. The purpose of the study was to investigate elementary special education teachers' perceptions of the appropriateness of and strategies for teaching self-determination skills for students with an ID. Data sources included in-depth interviews with eight elementary and four secondary special education teachers who teach students with an ID. Data were analyzed to identify themes related to teacher perceptions of teaching self-determination skills at the elementary level and the types of techniques used to teach these skills. The findings suggest that elementary special education teachers view teaching self-determination to students with an ID as important, expressing both the importance of teaching self-determination skills early and focusing on students with an ID. The findings also suggest that special education teachers feel they are providing development of self-determination skills, however teacher understanding of self-determination is limited and therefore they may not be providing adequate strategies. Recommendations include suggested development of a universal definition for self-determination and training on self-determination strategies in teacher preparation programs.