A
Review of Enhancing Self Determination of
Culturally Diverse Students With Disabilities: Current Status and Future
Directions
Benjamin
V. Erickson
University
of Northern Colorado
Summary
In the article Enhancing Self Determination of Culturally Diverse Students With
Disabilities: Current Status and Future Direction, the authors Dalun Zhang
and Michael R. Benz discuss research related to the relationship between
self-determination and successful outcomes both in-school and post-school for
students with disabilities. In particular the authors focus on research that
has explored self-determination as a factor in the education of students with
disabilities from culturally diverse backgrounds. The focus on students from
diverse multicultural backgrounds is introduced with statistics gathered by the
U.S. Census Bureau that show the population growth of individuals from diverse
cultural backgrounds in America. The authors also discuss the issue of
overrepresentation of minority students who receive special education services
to further illustrate the importance of investigating methods to better educate
students with disabilities form culturally diverse backgrounds. The article
then transitions into the topic of self-determination, giving a history of the
definition of the term, and results of research that studied the relationship
it has to transition outcomes, dropout, and post school outcomes.
The
findings of the research cited by the article show that self-determination has
a positive relationship with a successful education experience and transition
to the post school environment. The students in the studies who had strong
self-determination characteristics were less likely to drop out of school, more
likely to be employed and live independently, and more likely to be successful
academically at the postsecondary level. There were several research studies
discussed in this section, the participants in the various studies included,
students receiving special education services, students from rural areas,
students at risk for dropout, and youth with mental retardation or learning
disabilities.
The focus of the article then shifts to
self-determination and its application and promotion among students and
families from diverse cultural backgrounds. When discussing the application of
self-determination to diverse cultures the authors look at research that
investigates how individuals not of Anglo-European descent perceive, value, and
promote the idea of self-determination, which originated in Europe. The article
once again cites several research studies that had participants from diverse
cultures as well as Caucasian individuals. The authors use the findings from
the research to show that even though culture may have an impact on how an
individual or family views, values or promotes self-determination, in the end
self-determination has positive benefits for students with disabilities no
matter what their cultural background. With this conclusion established the
article segues into ways in which self-determination can be promoted among
students from culturally diverse backgrounds. Strategies for parents to foster
self-determination characteristics are laid out in the discussion of promoting
self-determination in the home environment. The section that covers the
self-determination in the school environment focuses on strategies for
teacher/school practices, instructional practices, implementing curriculum,
teacher training, and involving students in order to promote
self-determination. In their conclusion the authors reiterate the importance of
the relationship between self-determination and successful transition to
adulthood for all students, and note the need for further research involving
students and families from diverse cultural backgrounds, as well as the need
for better training in self-determination for teachers.
Reaction
This
article can have a very positive effect for both students and teachers,
especially if it serves as the impetus for future research on the subject. The
benefits of self-determination for students have been clearly established. This
article reinforces this because it gives strategies for both parents and
teachers to promote self-determination in their children and students. If
parents and teachers can be better promoters of self-determination it is clear
that the students will be better prepared for academic success as well as
transitioning to adulthood. The makeup of the American population is going to
continue to become even more culturally diverse, as evidenced by the data
released by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2012. This data shows that for the first
time ever the percentage of the American population under the age of one that
are minorities is over 50%. This shows that the need to have an understanding
of diverse cultures and research on how to best serve culturally diverse
students will become even more important.
Future Research
The
authors of the article do a good job of noting that this a subject that needs
future research, while the benefits of self-determination are clear; the
influence culture has on how individuals and families perceive and value
self-determination, and the best ways to promote self-determination in response
to these cultural differences still needs to be explored. In order to increase
teachers’ abilities to effectively promote self-determination the authors
discuss the need for improved training in self-determination through both
professional development and teacher education programs. The ever changing
makeup of the American population will also influence the future direction of
this subject, research will have to evolve and follow the cultural balance of
the country as it continues to shift. The article made me more aware of the
ways culture may influence how individuals and families view, value, and
promote self-determination, and how as a teacher the methods used to promote
self-determination need to be tailored in order to respect and work with these
cultural differences.
References
Zhang,
D., Benz, M.R. (2006) Enhancing self determination of culturally diverse
students with disabilities: Current status and future direction. Focus on Exceptional Children, 38 (9), 1-12.
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