Goal Content Analysis for Middle and High School Students With Disabilities

Abstract

Goal setting is associated with self-determination and student involvement in learning. Middle and high school students receiving special education services and corresponding special education teachers across six states were asked to name goals on which the students were working. A comparison of the academic, transition, and social goals named by 332 students was conducted to determine differences between groups. Results are reported by school level and the ability levels of students, evaluating both student-and teacher-reported goals from a written evaluation scenario. Relative grade level in school was shown to be a significant factor for content variation but not ability level. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed. Keywords self-determination, goal setting, high school, middle schoolGoal setting is a natural component of adult life displayed through the actions of most successful individuals. People set goals on a daily basis and in almost all facets of life, including work, school, and personal. Interest in goal setting has been around since the 1930s, when the notion of measuring motivation and conscious goals arose (Locke & Latham, 2002). According to Locke and Latham (2002), a goal is defined as "the object or aim of an action, for example, to attain a specific standard of proficiency, usually within a specific time limit" (p. 705). Goals have been studied in the context of self-determination (Wehmeyer & Bolding, 1999). Self-determination refers to an individual's perceived ability to make independent choices in his or her own life; the amount of control a person has over his or her decisions could affect the desire to set or achieve goals (Wehmeyer & Bolding, 1999).Measurable annual academic and functional goals are a requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals must meet the standards within Section 300.320 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mention goals designed to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, enabling them to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum. Thus, IEP goals must contain a description of how a child's progress toward the completion of these annual goals will be measured and the process for reporting progress on annual goals. Transition goals are also a required IEP component for students aged 16 years and older, or 14 years in some states that passed additional legislation to change the age for transition requirements. Therefore, the progress of IEP goals provides guid ance for the education and progress of students with disabilities. Although the goals discussed within this article would not be classified as official annual IEP goals, the process of understanding and setting goals and goal accomplishment is critical to both the IEP process and the skill of goal attainment within self-determination.A definition of self-determination suggested by Wehmeyer (2006) views the construct of self-determination as "...

Goal setting and planning for Norwegian students with and without intellectual disabilities: Wishing upon a star?

“…The high prevalence of academic goals is consistent with findings in previous research studies (e.g. Williams-Diehm et al 2010), and highlights the perceived importance of school performance for elementary and lower secondary school students.…”

“…As those students did not rank their goals in a specific order of importance, all goals were maintained, thus leading to a total of 112 goals for 83 students. After preparing the data, the students' goals were first sorted into several categories following the coding scheme from a similar study on goal content analysis for middle and high school students with disabilities by Williams-Diehm et al (2010). Then a further refinement of the categories was performed, as a large number of students specifically identified sports-related goals, a category which was not present in the study by Williams-Diehm et al (2010).…”

“…After preparing the data, the students' goals were first sorted into several categories following the coding scheme from a similar study on goal content analysis for middle and high school students with disabilities by Williams-Diehm et al (2010). Then a further refinement of the categories was performed, as a large number of students specifically identified sports-related goals, a category which was not present in the study by Williams-Diehm et al (2010). This generated an initial list of eight coding categories for goal content: (a) social goal, (b) academic goal, (c) long-term goal for academics, (d) sports-related leisure time goal, (e) other than sports-related leisure time goal, (f ) classroom management goal, (g) long-term goal for non-academics and (h) no goal.…”

Examining Types of Goals Set by Transition-Age Students With Intellectual Disability

“…In another goal content analysis, Williams-Diehm et al (2010) asked 332 students with disabilities in middle school and high school and their teachers to describe goals the student was working on (i.e., both teacher- and student-reported goals), although goal-setting instruction or activities were not part of the study. The most common goal type was academic, underscoring the importance of school within adolescents’ lives and the connection to future success postschool.…”

Transition Strengths and Needs of High School Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

“…By emphasizing strengths in all aspects of schooling or transition programming, students will have the opportunity to experience enjoyment and growth, which might help them build the confidence to improve in their deficit areas (Bullis et al, 2002;Malloy et al, 2010). Given that students and teachers have different perspectives of strengths and needs, it is important for teachers to allow students to share their perspectives and even take a leadership role during transition planning meetings (Test et al, 2009;Williams-Diehm et al, 2010). Although students may have different communication and self-awareness levels, allowing them to make important decisions and set goals can help them target these areas of need (Woods et al, 2010).…”