Self-Determination and Student Involvement in Standards-Based Reform

Promoting self-determination has become best practice in the education of students with disabilities. We synthesize the decade\u27s work in this area as a foundation for considering issues pertaining to promoting self-determination in light of the current educational context. We particularly examine the role of promoting self-determination in light of federal standards-based reform initiatives. We conclude that school reform efforts provide an opportunity to infuse instruction in self-determination into the education programs of all students, including students with disabilities. Many state and local standards include a focus on component elements of self-determined behavior and promoting self-determination enables students to perform more effectively within other content domains. The importance of personnel preparation to enable teachers to promote self-determination is discussed