A Systematic Review of Interventions to Promote Self-Determination for Students With Extensive Support Needs

Abstract

Intervening to enhance self-determination has been linked to enhanced in-school outcomes (e.g., academic and transition goal attainment and access to general education) and post-school outcomes (e.g., competitive employment, community participation) for students with and without disabilities in inclusive schools. However, research is needed to examine the extent to which students with extensive support needs (ESN) are included in this body of research. This systematic review aims to identify empirical research articles that examined the outcomes of interventions designed to promote abilities and skills associated with self-determination for students with ESN. Results suggest that research on self-determination for students with ESN in school contexts is limited across grade levels, particularly in inclusive settings. Consequently, there is a need for ongoing research to consider effective self-determination assessments to inform the design and implementation of interventions that promote self-determination for students with ESN in inclusive settings. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Developing the self‐determination of children and young people with intellectual disabilities in schools: A systematic review of the literature

“…Validated measures for overall self‐determination were used by eight studies (44.4% of included studies). This constitutes a greater number, but a lower proportion than in Alsaeed et al (2023) review, and a lower proportion and number than in Burke et al's (2020) review. Other recent and related self‐determination reviews either did not report on self‐determination measures (Kuld et al, 2023) or required included studies to use validated measures (Lindsay & Varahra, 2022).…”

“…A similar ≥50% criterion was employed by Lindsay et al (2019). There has been a push by disability advocates to focus on the nature of an individual's strengths and needs rather relying on disability labels (Alsaeed et al, 2023; Thompson et al, 2009). Nevertheless, the label of intellectual disability (including any international or historical aliases) was used as a criterion here to best capture the participant demographic descriptors reported in research across the review period.…”

“…The review encompasses a focus on social validity and decision-making involvement as possible avenues for students' expression of selfdetermination within the planning, application, and evaluation processes associated with self-determination practices, strategies, and interventions. This scope contrasts with other reviews of selfdetermination interventions and development which have either addressed the needs of students with disabilities in general (e.g., Burke et al, 2020), the needs of students extensive support needs across a variety of disability profiles (Alsaeed et al, 2023), addressed a larger age range (e.g., Chiang & Howe, 2018;Skarsaune, 2023), omitted information about social validity (e.g., Lindsay & Varahra, 2022) and decision making involvement (e.g., Burke et al, 2020;Chiang & Howe, 2018), or not focused practices, strategies, and interventions in the universal leverage point of the school context (e.g., Dean et al, 2021;Mumbardó-Adam et al, 2017). While Kuld et al's (2023) systematic review covers interventions to support people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, this review covers a broader scope, in that it incorporates research with children and young people across the spectrum of intellectual disabilities.…”

“…However, no review has yet synthesised the research on practices, strategies, and interventions specific to students with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, the latest relevant self‐determination reviews (with the exception of Alsaeed et al, 2023) have tended to exclude research on years prior to participants' entry into high school, rather than extending their scope across the full extent of compulsory education provision. This means that there is limited guidance on practices and corresponding resources that can be employed in the elementary school years where teachers are known to be less confident and even divided about the applicability of self‐determination for their students with disabilities (Hagiwara et al, 2022).…”

Supporting All Students to Be Self-Determined: Using the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction Within Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports

“…Students with ESN are often marginalized in school contexts and have limited access to self-determination instruction, opportunities, and supports. Students with ESN are rarely included in self-determination research in inclusive contexts (Agran et al, 2020; Alsaeed et al, in press; Burke, Raley, et al, 2020). To address the disproportionately poor postschool outcomes for students with disabilities, including students with ESN, leaders in school reform have advocated for building multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSSs) to address the complexities of implementing whole-school interventions with fidelity that support all students (Sailor, 2008–2009).…”