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Perceptions and Experiences of Self-determination of Students and Youth with Intellectual Disabilities in Korea

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Abstract

Objectives

Despite increasing emphasis and a growing body of research on self-determination, few studies have examined perceptions and experiences of self-determination from the perspectives of students with disabilities in Korea. This study explored perceptions and experiences of self-determination of Korean students and youth with intellectual disability to identify factors that affect self-determination and directions for future research regarding instructional supports that promote self-determination.

Methods

For this purpose, individual interviews were conducted with 19 students and youth with intellectual disability. The collected data were analyzed using the constant comparative method.

Results

The analysis generated the following four main themes: (a) awareness of self-determination, (b) practices of self-determined behaviors, (c) goals for transition to adulthood, and (d) plans for achieving transition goals.

Conclusions

The findings revealed the impact of experience on perceptions of self-determination and the impact of culture on experiences of self-determination. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for future research regarding instructional supports that promote the self-determination of students with intellectual disability, taking into account experiential and cultural factors.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017S1A5A2A01027315).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Special Education, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea

    Suk-Hyang Lee, Juhee Hong, Ji-Hye Yeom & JungAh Lee

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  1. Suk-Hyang Lee
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  2. Juhee Hong
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  3. Ji-Hye Yeom
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  4. JungAh Lee
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Contributions

SHL designed and executed the study, conducted the data analyses, and wrote the paper. JHH assisted with the data collection and analyses. JHY assisted with the data collection and analyses. JAL assisted with the data collection and analyses.

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Correspondence to Suk-Hyang Lee.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures undertaken in this study were approved in advance by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Ewha Womans University.

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IRB approved informed consent and assent procedures were followed for all participants in this study.

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Lee, SH., Hong, J., Yeom, JH. et al. Perceptions and Experiences of Self-determination of Students and Youth with Intellectual Disabilities in Korea. Adv Neurodev Disord 3, 138–151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-019-00099-w

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