The Impact of Participation in the IEP Process for Middle School Students: An Explanatory Sequential Investigation

The explanatory sequential design was adopted for this study to explore the impact of student participation in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process on their perceived self-advocacy outside of the meeting. Quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-surveys and qualitative data were collected through student focus groups and teacher interviews. Participants included 111 students with disabilities in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades enrolled at a middle school in Georgia selected through purposeful sampling and seven teachers who were involved in the IEP process. Of the 111 students, 36 were selected to attend the focus group interviews. Paired t tests, ANCOVA, ANOVA and Welch’s F analyses were used to analyze the quantitative data; a deductive approach was used to analyze the qualitative data for this study. The findings showed IEP Participation had a positive impact on students’ perceptions of self-advocacy. Most of the students recognized the helpfulness of their IEP involvement, wanted to be more involved in their educational decisions, and noticed their own improvement on self-advocacy, especially in the pillars of “Knowledge of Self” and “Communication.” Although not many students specifically reported their improvements in the pillars of “Knowledge of Rights” and “Leadership,” teachers did notice increases in these two pillars. Special attention should be paid to students’ relationships with case managers and parental involvement because these would the possible factors influencing student participation in the IEP process. In addition, students from every middle school grade may improve self-advocacy perceptions from participating in the IEP process, although students in sixth grade may need additional support in the “Knowledge of Self” pillar due to their age and maturity. Furthermore, students from every eligibility category may improve self-advocacy perceptions from participating in the IEP process. After an explanation of self-advocacy, many of them are able to differentiate between the pillars of self-advocacy and state if they have improved or not in each pillar. Teachers and administrators may need to provide more supports for students with certain eligibilities (e.g., Autism, Speech-Language Impairment, and Intellectual Disability) who are struggling in some pillars.Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 1 | Introduction to Study 1 | Problem and Purpose 4 | Problem 4 | Purpose 6 | Research Questions 6 | Framework and Design 7 | Framework 7 | Design 11 | Significance, Limitations and Assumptions 12 | Significance 12 | Limitations 13 | Assumptions 14 | Definition of Key Terms 14 | Summary 17 | Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 19 | Individualized Education Plan 20 | Definition of the Individualized Education Plan 20 | History of the Individualized Education Plan 21 | Perceptions of the Individualized Education Plan and Services 23 | Involvement in the Individualized Education Plan Process 26 | Self-Advocacy 27 | Definition of Self-Advocacy 27 | Four Pillars of Self-Advocacy 29 | History of Self-Advocacy 30 | Self-Advocacy at Various Grade Levels 31 | Self-Advocacy and Various Disabilities 34 | Perceived Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities 37 | Individualized Education Plans and Self-Advocacy 40 | Student Self-Advocacy in IEP Process 40 | IEP Involvement and Self-Management in Goal Achievement 42 | Gaps and Conflicts in Previous Studies 46 | Theoretical and Conceptual Framework for the Study 46 | Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 48 | Research Design 48 | Research Questions 51 | Participants 52 | Instrumentation 54 | Quantitative Instrument 54 | Qualitative Instrument 57 | Data Collection 59 | Quantitative Data Collection 59 | Qualitative Data Collection 61 | Data Analysis 62 | Quantitative Data Analysis 62 | Qualitative Data Analysis 63 | Data Integration 63 | Summary 64 | Chapter IV: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA 65 | Results 67 | Research Question 1a 67 | Research Question 1b 71 | Research Question 1c 73 | Research Question 2a 82 | Research Question 2b 88 | Summary…………………………………………………………………………93 | Chapter V: SUMMARY AND DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 96 | Summary and Discussions 98 | Conclusions 107 | Implications 109 | Recommendations 111 | REFERENCES 112 | APPENDIX A: Parent/Guardian Informed Consent Form 119 | APPENDIX B: Minor Assent 123 | APPENDIX C: Self-Advocacy Survey for Middle School Students 125 | APPENDIX D: Sample Focus Group Questions 128 | APPENDIX E: Local School Permission to Conduct Study 130 | APPENDIX F: Teacher Interview Questions 132 | APPENDIX G: Observation Memo for IEP Meetings…………………...…………….135 | APPENDIX H: Initial Institutional Review Board Approval…………………..............137 | APPENDIX I: Modified Institutional Review Board Approval ……………………….139 | APPENDIX J: Focus Group Student Participants’ Demographics and Survey Score…141 | | LIST OF TABLES | Table 1: Descriptive and T-Test Results For Sixth Graders on Their Perceptions | Regarding Each Pillar of Self-Advocacy……………………………………....68 | Table 2: Descriptive and T-Test Results For Seventh Graders on Their Perceptions Regarding Each Pillar of Self-Advocacy………...………….….……………...69 | Table 3: Descriptive and T-Test Results For Eighth Graders on Their Perceptions | Regarding Each Pillar of Self-Advocacy……………………………………....70 | Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of Mean/Standard Deviation for the Pre and Post | Survey Scores on Pillar One of Self-Advocacy by Eligibility Category……....76 | Table 5: Descriptive Statistics of Mean/Standard Deviation for the Pre and Post | Survey Scores on Pillar Two of Self-Advocacy by Eligibility Category….......78 | Table 6: Descriptive Statistics of Mean/Standard Deviation for the Pre and Post | Survey Scores on Pillar Three of Self-Advocacy by Eligibility Category….…79 | Table 7: Descriptive Statistics of Mean/Standard Deviation for the Pre and Post | Survey Scores on Pillar Four of Self-Advocacy by Eligibility Category.…......80 | Table 8: Demographics of Teacher Interview Participants...…………………..………..89 | LIST OF FIGURES | Figure 1: Concept Map for This Study…………………………………………………..10 | Figure 2: Reaction Coding for Participant Perceptions 85 | Figure 3: Themes Emerging From Student Responses 88 | Figure 4: Teacher Reports of Student Self-Advocacy Changes 93 |Hsiao, E-LingDowney, Steven E.Tsemunhu, RudoDees, Dianne C.Ed.D.Curriculum and Instructio