Case studies of young women with learning disabilities showed they increased practical living skills at a day center but had little autonomy in long-term life decisions and little opportunity for productive activity and social interaction. Low expectations of others and the segregated day center program hampered their ability to reach adult status…

The ability of measures of perceived competence, control, and autonomy support to predict self-worth and academic performance was studied across groups of high school students. Stepwise regression analyses indicate these variables in model predict self-worth and grade point average. In addition, levels of school status and depression predict…

A cumulative review and analysis of 27 empirical investigations that assessed the preferences and choices of individuals with severe or profound mental retardation found that, since 1978, a technology has been evolving that can assess preference and choice via six types of participant responses across a variety of stimulus presentations. Research…

Reports on the views of a small group of part-time United Kingdom Open University students taking their first course. Discusses course demands, support received, demands on their time, learning how to study, student assessment, good marks increasing their motivation, and students' awareness of their increasing confidence and self-worth.…

Examined whether parenting and child characteristics of term and preterm 2- and 3.5-year-olds had common paths of influence on children's independent cognitive and social functioning at age 4.5 years. Found that high levels of mothers' maintaining children's interests across these ages supported later independence, but directiveness needed to…

Presents a definitional framework of self-determination as an important educational outcome for students with disabilities. It identifies essential characteristics of self-determination and discusses developmental aspects of self-determination. Implications for educational intervention during the early childhood, elementary, and secondary years…

Examines the insights that evolved from a long-term collaboration among doctoral students in a study group preparing for comprehensive examinations. Considers four elements that contributed to successful collaboration: logistics, social dynamics, empowerment, and change. Challenges how well current higher education policies encourage personal…

In this study, a system of least prompts, partial participation, and parental involvement was used to successfully teach an adolescent with Down syndrome, moderate mental retardation, and Type I diabetes to self-administer an injection of insulin as part of an overall plan to increase self-determination and independence. (Contains seven…

This study of 36 adults with visual impairments found that self-esteem was related to 3 self-report measures of skills: dependence on others, difficulty with daily living skills, and motivation to learn. Relationships were found between educational level and self-esteem, educational level and the three measures of skills, and employment status and…

Reviews the literature on world-system theory and critical thinking about class relations to examine differences in thinking about the responses of subordinate actors to hegemony. Suggests an agency-oriented agenda for world-system inquiry in comparative education that focuses on resistance and accommodation by periphery students and educators to…

Information and communication technologies, especially the Internet, have vastly increased access to information and educational opportunities. Steadily increasing consumer demand is driving the development of online educational materials. The end result may be a "fragmentation" of learning involving multiple learning providers and delivery modes,…

Study was conducted with beginning high school students (872 females, 404 males) in Quebec to determine their view of school-related parental activities and whether their opinions varied by gender or level of autonomy. Even though adolescents welcomed most parental involvement, support was stronger among females. Boy's work-orientation and girls'…

Compared psychogenic needs structures of 2 groups of 16-year-olds from 1964 and 1992. Found that 1992 adolescents, compared to those from 1964, described themselves as more aggressive, more aimed at achievement, with a greater need to be at the center of attention and a greater need for autonomy and independence, but less need for order, rules,…

A survey of 37 educators in 14 Italian schools examined the roles of paraprofessionals. Results indicated that paraprofessionals were relied upon far less than in the United States and that respondents thought that paraprofessionals should work primarily on motor and self-help/autonomy skills. Most expressed skepticism about use of…

Examined conceptions of parenting among middle-class African American parents of early adolescents. Found that parents strongly endorsed setting firm limits. Mothers rated limiting adolescents' behavior as more important than permitting or encouraging independence. Mothers of younger adolescent females viewed limits as more important than mothers…