Perceptions of self-determination by special education and rehabilitation practitioners based on viewing a self-directed IEP versus an external-directed IEP meeting.
One short video of a student-led IEP meeting makes staff see students as more capable and meetings as better.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Branding et al. (2009) showed two short videos to special-education and rehab staff. One video showed a high-school student running her own IEP meeting. The other showed adults running the same meeting while the student stayed quiet.
After each video, staff filled out a quick survey. They rated how self-determined the student seemed and how good the meeting felt.
What they found
Every time, staff said the student in the self-led video looked more self-determined. They also said that meeting was higher quality.
The effect was strong for both special-education teachers and rehab counselors.
How this fits with other research
Bhaumik et al. (2008) used a six-session BST package in Hong Kong and got the same lift in staff attitudes, but it took weeks. Dave’s one video did it in minutes.
Lunsky et al. (2024) swapped the IEP video for a virtual OSCE with medical students and still saw gains. The tool keeps working even when you change the trainee group.
Christensen et al. (2024) moved past watching videos and put self-advocates inside the training program as co-trainees. That study extends Dave’s idea: don’t just show self-advocacy—include self-advocates.
Why it matters
You can shift staff mindset in the time it takes to drink a coffee. Queue a two-minute clip of a student leading her IEP before your next team meeting. Ask staff to jot down what the student did, not what adults did. You will prime them to expect more self-direction from every learner they support.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study investigated perception of self-determination by special education and rehabilitation practitioners following their exposure to a videotaped simulation of a self-directed IEP meeting and an external-directed IEP meeting involving an adolescent with mild mental retardation. Groups of special education practitioners and rehabilitation practitioners did not differ from each other in their perceptions of self-determination before or after viewing either the self-directed or external-directed IEP meeting simulation. However, both groups of respondents had higher perceptions of the self-determination capability of the confederate student when they viewed her in a self-directed meeting. In addition, respondents consistently rated the self-directed meeting simulation as being of higher overall quality than the external-directed meeting. Results are discussed in relation to practitioner recommendations and future research in regard to the development and enabling of self-determination skills involving persons with disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2009 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2008.10.006