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There has been a great deal of research reaffirming the power of self-determination within the process of planning for the transition from school to adult life for a student with disabilities. Much of the focus of that research has been on teaching core component skills or changing parts of the process such as the transition Individualized Education Program meeting itself. Although these strategies are effective, they only begin to scratch the surface of what is necessary to facilitate self-determined transition planning throughout the year. This article describes the efforts of one teacher to infuse self-determination throughout both the curriculum and the school year.
How can a special educator best prepare his or her students to become self-determined in the transition from school to adult life? With this question, one teacher, Karen Thomas, began her journey into the world of action research. She had read about self-determination and intuitively believed that it was necessary for effective transition planning. She read the work of Wehmeyer and colleagues (e.g., Wehmeyer, 1992; Wehmeyer & Sands, 1996) and understood conceptually what selfdetermination was. She read the work of Halpern et al. (1997); Fullerton (1998); and Mithaug, Wehmeyer, Agran, Martin, and Palmer ( 1998), which described curricula and/or strategies to teach self-determination skills to students with disabilities. She read about person-centered planning methods, such as the McGill Action Planning System (MAPS; Forest & Lusthaus, 1999) and Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH; Pearpoint, O'Brien, & Forest, 1993), which are described as methods for supporting student self-determination in transition planning (Hagner, Helm, & Butterworth, 1996). She also read the work of Abery and Stancliffe (1996), which recommended using an ecological approach to facilitating student self-determination in transition planning. An ecological approach would ensure that changes went beyond the individual student level to include changes at the small-group, organization, system, and even national levels. She decided that she needed help to sort it all out and to evaluate the effectiveness of any changes she made.
That is where we begin this study. Karen Thomas sought the help and support of a doctoral candidate at Indiana University, Mary Held, who was focusing her research on the areas of transition planning and teacher preparation. Ms. Held agreed to work with Ms. Thomas as part...