title: The relationship between self-determination and academic achievement for adolescents with intellectual disabilities.
abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that for students with intellectual disabilities, improved self-determination skills are positively correlated with productivity and organization during school and quality of life outcomes in adulthood. Despite extensive investigation in these areas, the predictive relationship between self-determination and academic achievement for students with intellectual disabilities has not been fully established. This study utilized the sample from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 of 480 adolescents with intellectual disabilities in the United States in an attempt to provide a possible empirical explanation of the relationship between academic achievement and self-determination, taking into account the covariates of gender, family income and urbanicity. The structural equation model was found to closely fit the data: all path coefficients were statistically significant. The results of this study identify a strong correlation between self-determination and academic achievement for adolescents with intellectual disabilities, indicating a linear relationship of these skills and supporting an increased focus on the teaching of self-determination skills.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning, 521 JR Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Road, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States. Electronic address: aerickson@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Amy S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Gaumer Erickson
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning, 521 JR Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Road, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States. Electronic address: pnoonan@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning, 521 JR Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Road, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States. Electronic address: zhengchunmei5@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chunmei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas, Center for Research on Learning, 521 JR Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Road, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States. Electronic address: jbrussow@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Brussow
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D002755:Choice Behavior; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011209:Power, Psychological; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Academic achievement; Developmental disabilities; Intellectual disabilities; Mental retardation; Self-determination