The effects of the family-involved sdlmi on academic engagement and goal attainment of middle school students with disabilities who exhibit problem behavior

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the Family-Involved SelfDetermination Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) on academic engagement and goal attainment of middle school students with disabilities who exhibit problem behavior. Intervention was provided to the experimental group (12 students with their families and special educators) in Korean language classes for seven months while no treatment was provided to the control group (12 students). As a result, academic engagement in the experimental group, measured by behavior rating and direct observation, increased at a significantly higher rate than that of the control group. Also, the goal attainment of Korean language in the experimental group improved significantly compared to the control group. Finally, discussions of the results, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future studies are presented. Many students with disabilities show problem behavior that may impede not only their learning but also others’ learning when compared with their typically developing peers. When their problem behavior is very serious, their education tends to focus extensively on compliance. However, it is highly probable that the educational practice focusing on compliance depends on external reinforcements or prompts, which may lead to difficulties in students setting their own goals and pursuing them independently. The students with disabilities who exhibit problem behavior, because of passivity and dependence, neither reach the appropriate level of independence nor apply newly acquired skills to new situations. In this way, the students cannot do without others’ help and management (Peterson, Young, Salzberg, West, & Hill, 2006). In addition, their difficulties in understanding themselves and their environments and in making efforts to adjust to the environments worsen their internalizing problems such as withdrawal, anxiety, and depression as well as externalizing problems such as showing aggressive and impulsive behavior (Shepherd, 2010). The ability to make a judgment about oneself and one’s environment and to choose between a desirable behavior and an undesirable behavior can be improved through instruction on self-determination, which means acting as the primary causal agent in one’s life and making choices and decisions regarding one’s quality of life free from undue external influence or interference. (Wehmeyer, 1996, p. 22). Selfdetermination, which enables students to adjust their goals and behaviors according to their circumstances, can be promoted through repeated learning (Carter, Lane, Pierson, & Glaeser, 2006; Wehmeyer, Field, Doren, Jones, & Mason, 2004). Students with disabilities who exhibit problem behavior will acquire not only an awareness of situations but also self-management of their behavior if we provide ongoing opportunities to determine their behavior and to anticipate the results of it. The impulsivity, lack of self-control, and aggressiveness that the students with disabilities show may hinder their ability to participate in the activities that occur in their classrooms. Due to their problem behaviors, they experience frustration and refusal in their classrooms that, in turn, leads to inappropriate behavior (Rogevich & Perin, 2008). After all, this vicious cycle keeps them from being engaged in class activities. Because most of teachers’ time in class is devoted to behavior management, actual time and opportunities for instruction is significantly reduced for these students. This problem becomes more

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