Secondary Students' Involvement in Their IEP Meetings: Administrators' Perceptions

Why is This Cake on Fire?

“…However, Grigal and colleagues noted that IEP meeting participation may have different meanings to different people and that some people may equate simply attending the meeting with participation. Other studies have confirmed this "attendance equals participation" notion (Field & Hoffman, 1994;Martin, Greene, & Borland, 2004). Teachers involved in the Martin et al (in press) study made the following comments after teaching the self-directed IEP to their students:…”

“…Active student involvement at the IEP meeting is central to this process (Martin, Greene, & Borland, 2004). It is now up to professionals and parents to invite students into the IEP planning process and to support them while they…”

“…These implications, which are not new, have helped inspire fundamental changes in secondary special education and created opportunities for students to learn crucial self-advocacy and other self-determination skills during the transition process (Martin et al, 2006). Active student involvement at the IEP meeting is central to this process (Martin, Greene, & Borland, 2004). It is now up to professionals and parents to invite students into the IEP planning process and to support them while they Martin, Huber, Marshall, et al (2004) examined the perceptions of IEP meeting participants when students attended meetings.…”

Methodological Trends in Secondary Education and Transition Research

“…The importance of qualitative designs to informing evidence-based policy and practice in special education has been highlighted elsewhere (Brantlinger et al, 2005) and is certainly reflected within the pages of CDTEI. For example, researchers have probed the perceptions of key stakeholders on transition practices and outcomes (Lehmann & Baker, 1994), explored the experiences of students with intellectual disability transitioning from school (Paiewonsky, 2011), and investigated practitioners’ understanding of constructs like self-determination and student involvement (Martin, Greene, & Borland, 2004).…”

GO 4 it … Now!

“…Recent data suggest that students are increasingly likely to attend their individualized education program (IEP) meetings (National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 [NLTS2], 2003); however, their attendance at meetings does not ensure active participation (Martin, Greene, & Borland, 2004;Mason, Field, & Sawilowsky, 2004;NLTS2;Powers, Turner, Matuszewski, Wilson, & Phillips, 2001). It is likely that students are passive attendees because they are not sure what to expect when they attend their meetings and because they have not received instruction in how to participate in such a meeting (Johnson & Sharpe, 2000).…”