Self-Determination
For Students with
Intellectual Disabilities
and
WHY I WANT EDUCATORS TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS
Contrary to what many people assume, students with intellectual disabilities are
capable of directing some aspects of their own lives. If we are to create democratic
classrooms, Ms. Marks argues, we must promote self-determination for all students.
BY SUSAN UNOK MARKS
S SOMEONE who has been involved in special education for
close to 30 years, I continue to
struggle with ways to describe to
general educators some issues
that I believe should be of importance to all of us. Recently, I have
focused on self-determination
and its implications for inclusive schooling.
Those familiar with the field of special education
readily admit that these two concepts are often
difficult to explain, especially as they apply to
students with intellectual disabilities. After all,
how can children with intellectual disabilities
participate in typical general education classrooms, where the academic demands are seemingly far above their capabilities? And how can
they engage in behaviors associated with self-determination, such as making meaningful choices
and directing their own lives?
Yet, as we delve deeper into these questions, it
becomes clear that the concepts of self-determination and inclusive schooling are intricately related to the principles of democratic education,
A
■ SUSAN UNOK MARKS is an associate professor of special education at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.
Photo: Liquid Library
SEPTEMBER 2008
55
the same ideals proposed by John Dewey.1 Whereas
general educators have been struggling to create democratic classrooms, special educators have been struggling with the concepts of self-determination and inclusive schooling. Perhaps it is time for educators to
see democratic education, inclusive schooling, and
the promotion of self-determination as interrelated issues.
SO WHAT IS SELF-DETERMINATION?
Self-determination is simply the idea of being a
“causal agent” in one’s life, being able to make things
happen.2 Researchers on this topic have pointed to
some key skills associated with self-determination:
self-regulation, self-knowledge, self-reflection, problem solving, goal setting, self-monitoring, and decision making.3 Historically, self-determination has referred to the struggle of countries and groups of individuals to self-govern and to have access to privileges
and rights.4 Obviously, many students learn these important skills without being formally taught them.
Moreover, these are critical skills for all students, at
least in part because they bear a strong resemblance to
what Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick refer to as “habits
of mind.”5
Yet many people have trouble associating the concept of self-determination with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Most people hold assumptions
that intellectual capacity is a prerequisite to self-determination and that individuals who may be lacking in
certain intellectual capacities will misuse self-determination or express it in immature ways (demanding
things unreasonably, asking for things that could be
dangerous, etc.). These perceptions are so common
that few people ever question whether they are true.
If we look at the history of minority or oppressed
groups, we can see countless examples in which perceptions and beliefs about what certain people were
capable of were subsequently dispelled. Research by
Michael Wehmeyer and his colleagues has provided
convincing evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities can learn and actually do want to have
more opportunities for self-determination in their
lives.6 However, they are given few such opportunities
and are generally not supported in their efforts, because those around them do not believe they can succeed. Unfortunately, most special education programs perpetuate these views.
So why is self-determination important for students with intellectual disabilities? The reasons are the
same as those for any minority group: to prevent oppression. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are
an oppressed group, and there is much evidence to
support this view. They are more likely to live in segregated settings without the full privileges afforded
most adults, they are more likely to be schooled in segregated settings with less access to quality education
in academic areas, and they are more likely to work in
segregated work contexts.7 For these reasons, federal
policies have focused on the rights of individuals with
intellectual disabilities, along with specific goals to
address opportunities for self-determination. However, the success of such efforts must rely on educational programs, which are charged with teaching the fundamental skills related to self-determination.
What will it take for educators to move us in this
direction? In this article, I focus on three key ideas for
educators to keep in mind, so that they can begin to
see how the development of self-determination can
open many doors for students with intellectual disabilities and why it is important to address self-determination in inclusive settings. I believe that the central question facing inclusive schooling should be
“What is the best educational environment for promoting self-determination?”
Key Idea #1. All People Want Some Level of
Self-Determination in Their Lives.
Mary is a first grader who has cerebral palsy, which
makes communication a challenge. Today, Ms. Frank,
her teacher, asks the class which big book they would
like for her to read. It turns out that one of the book
choices is about dogs, and Mary loves dogs. Her body
tightens, and she kicks her legs in excitement. Ms.
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PHI DELTA KAPPAN
Frank notices this and is somewhat surprised, because
most of the time Mary seems aloof and quiet, rarely
expressing any preferences. So she asks Mary if she
wants the book about dogs, and Mary smiles even
more broadly as her body moves more excitedly.
Regardless of intellectual capacity, we all want to be
able to direct some aspect of our lives. Our preferences
and how we express them will vary by age, cultural experience, and other personal qualities. For older students, making a choice about which book to have the
teacher read may seem like a trivial matter, but to
Mary making this choice was important. Through the
sensitive response of her teacher, she is learning that
expressing a choice does matter.
We must acknowledge that students with intellectual disabilities do want to exercise some kinds of selfdirection, whether or not many adults recognize the
fact.8 The challenge for educators is to find the ways
in which students with intellectual disabilities can exercise self-determination and not assume that students lack the desire to do so simply because they
don’t overtly express their desire or don’t express it in
understandable ways. We must also keep in mind that
not being able to exhibit self-determined behaviors in
one area of life does not mean not being able to do so
in other areas. It is important to remember that not
all people want to direct every aspect of their lives and
indeed many may not be capable of directing many
aspects of their lives. But this does not mean that they
do not want any opportunities at all. Some things are
important to us, and some things just aren’t that important. The same is true for students with intellectual disabilities.
For example, some of us may hand over all decision
making regarding our financial investments, but we
still want to direct how and when we will spend our
money. Likewise, we need to learn what is meaningful for students. What self-determination skills can
the student be taught, matched to his or her age? How
do we find out in which areas the student wants to express greater choices? How can we move beyond simply offering choices on what to eat, drink, and wear?
Simply put, if we don’t listen, students with intellectual disabilities may simply quit expressing their desires and so minimize their chances of acting in selfdetermined ways.
dents are busily putting together the weekly issue, and
Chris is particularly intrigued by a new ninth-grade
student who has recently moved to the community.
The student, Jake, gets a lot of attention for his “cool”
dress and pierced ear. Chris goes home and tells his
parents that he wants to pierce his ear, and he begins
to say things that he has heard Jake say, such as
“gnarly,” “dude,” and “sweet.”
We all develop skills in self-determination as a result of our varied life experiences. Learning about who
we are is critical to becoming a self-determined individual, and we learn that by interacting with a variety
of people. Some of us have belonged to clubs and organizations, some of us have traveled, some have gone
to college, and some have moved frequently and lived
in many locales. All of these experiences have given us
access to a variety of viewpoints, ideas, and experiences that have shaped how we think and let us discover what’s important to us.
Yet many students with intellectual disabilities
have extremely limited ranges of experiences because
they have been educated in self-contained classrooms
and have limited access to extracurricular activities.
We can’t know for sure whether a student with intellectual disabilities is incapable of being more self-determined or has simply missed out on the varied opportunities that have enabled each of us to become a
self-determined individual. I believe that this is the
strongest rationale for ensuring that all students with
disabilities have access to the same environments as
those without disabilities.
Too many of the self-contained classrooms that
Key Idea #2. Rich and Varied Experiences Are
Necessary for Promoting Self-Determination
Chris, a ninth grader with moderate intellectual
disabilities, is part of the school newspaper club. StuSEPTEMBER 2008
57
provide services to segregated groups of students with
disabilities are impoverished environments. They allow only minimal access to new ideas, people, and experiences. This is not because of any lack of skills or
caring on the part of the educators working in these
classrooms, but because it is simply impossible to provide varied and rich experiences in these settings. Typical settings provide rich opportunities to solve problems and interact with a variety of peers who are all
doing a range of interesting things. Recall your school
friends who had a tremendous impact on how you
dressed or talked or even thought at certain times in
your school days. In the scene above, Chris would
never have met someone like Jake if he had been in
the self-contained setting of a special education classroom.
Today’s diverse general classrooms provide rich opportunities for problem solving. Think about the
classroom dynamics, disagreements, and negotiations
involved in completing a group project. As Martin
Agran and his colleagues have noted, the rich opportunities to solve problems and to learn problem-solving skills are often lacking for students with intellectual disabilities.9 In self-contained special education
settings, teachers and other adults actually tend to
minimize problems for students with intellectual disabilities. Of course, this can also occur in general education classrooms if an adult constantly hovers over
the student with disabilities. We must see that students with disabilities have the freedom to explore
and experience interactions, behaviors, and ideas that
are expressed by their nondisabled peers. How can we
learn about what we like or don’t like without such
variety of experiences?
Key Idea #3. Self-Determination Is a Lifelong
Learning Process
Self-determination is not something one acquires
at one specific time. Instead, it is a lifelong process.
As adults, we are continuing to learn new self-determination skills that are tied to the different priorities
in our lives. Over time, we learn new information that
shapes our desire for self-determination and enables
us to become more self-determined in certain areas of
our lives.
What is important to us also changes as we age. For
example, I am now considering retirement. I did not
think about retirement when I was younger. Because
I want to make sure that everything is taken care of
once I decide to retire, I have to seek out new information and make decisions now (e.g., increase salary
58
PHI DELTA KAPPAN
contributions toward my 401(k) plan, explore job opportunities during retirement). In this one area, I have
now become far more self-determined. We need to remember that students with disabilities are also lifelong learners, still developing toward greater and
greater self-determination that is tied to new priorities, preferences, and desires.
It is also important to note that self-determination
skills are not necessarily hierarchical. Sadly, we often
rely on the idea of “readiness” (students must already
exhibit certain skills before we will teach them new
skills) to deny students with intellectual disabilities
the opportunity to express greater self-determination
in the areas that matter to them.
I believe that it is our moral responsibility to create
educational learning environments that offer opportunities for self-determination, even for those students who have intellectual disabilities. Self-determination should be one of their “inalienable rights.” In
fact, without self-determination, I believe that students with disabilities will never be able to exercise
their other rights; they will continue to be left out of
our democratic process and made subject to oppression. For this reason, I believe that it is time for educators to think about democratic education, inclusive
schooling, and the promotion of self-determination
for students with intellectual disabilities as interconnected purposes that can guide our work.
1. John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: Macmillan,
1929).
2. Michael L. Wehmeyer, “Beyond Self-Determination: Causal Agency
Theory,” Journal of Developmental & Physical Disabilities, December
2004, pp. 337-59.
3. Martin Agran and Carolyn Hughes, “Are People with Severe Disabilities Any More Self-Determined? Introduction to the Special Issue on
Self-Determination: How Far Have We Come?” Research & Practice for
Persons with Severe Disabilities, Fall 2005, pp. 105-7.
4. Dennis E. Mithaug, “Identifying What We Know About Self-Determination,” in Michael L. Wehmeyer et al., eds., Theory in Self-Determination: Foundations for Educational Practice (Springfield, Ill.: Charles
C Thomas, 2003).
5. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick, “Describing 16 Habits of Mind,”
www.habits-of-mind.net.
6. Wehmeyer et al., op. cit.
7. A Charge We Have to Keep: A Road Map to Personal and Economic Freedom for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in the 21st Century — 2004
(Washington, D.C.: President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, 2004).
8. Michael L. Wehmeyer, “Self-Determination and Individuals with Severe Disabilities: Re-Examining Meanings and Misinterpretations,” Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, Fall 2005, pp. 11320.
9. Martin Agran et al., “Increasing the Problem-Solving Skills of Students with Developmental Disabilities Participating in General Education,” Remedial and Special Education, September/October 2002, pp.
279-88.
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Susan Unok Marks, Self-Determination for Students with Intellectual
Disabilities and Why I Want Educators to Know What It Means, Phi
Delta Kappan, Vol. 90, No. 01, September 2008, pp. 55-58.
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