What can educators and parents do to encourage self-determination among secondary school students?
Izzo and Lamb (2002) offer eight suggestions to shift the focus of education from fostering dependence to encouraging self-determined independence that results in positive postschool outcomes for students with disabilities: • Empower parents as partners in promoting self-determination and career development skills. • Facilitate student-centered IEP meetings and self-directed learning models. • Increase students’ awareness of their disabilities and needed accommodations. • Offer credit-bearing classes in self-determination and careers. • Teach and reinforce students to develop an internal locus of control. • Teach and promote self-advocacy skills and support student application of those skills. • Infuse self-determination and career development skills into the general education curriculum. • Develop and implement work-based learning programs for all students.