Abstract
The goal of education can be defined in many ways; but in searching the literature, we found that in most cases, people consider the goal of education to be developing a self-determined individual. Self-determination is an abstract term. Behavior analysts may find this term difficult to define. Therefore, it may be difficult to observe and measure whether “self-determined behaviors” have developed. Many other service providers use this term frequently; thus, behavior analysts working with these service providers must come to terms with this concept in order to better collaborate. We argue that self-determination can be operationally defined with the concepts of choice, self-control, and self-management. By using the measurable behaviors included in these concepts, we believe that services can be developed to teach self-determination skills. This paper explores these concepts and how they can contribute to an operational definition of self-determination, and ultimately, help behavior analysts work with other providers to effectively teach self-determination to individuals with developmental disabilities.
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Notes
This is a paper about choice making in education. This example, involving a partygoer having a drink, may not appear to be an “education” example to the reader. We use this example, because it exemplifies, in our view, the outcome of education. That is, if the purpose of education is to help prepare people to be productive citizens of our society, exercising their freedoms and responsibilities, then making informed choices about how to behave at a party, knowing one needs to go to work in the morning, is an excellent example of doing so. That is, our example of the partygoer is one that exemplifies educational outcomes, not the educational steps taken to develop these skills in the individual.
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This paper is based on a presentation given at the Association for Behavior Analysis International conference in 2014: Peterson, S.M. (2014, May) The role of choice making in school. Invited Tutorial at the 40th Annual Association for Behavior Analysis International Convention, Chicago. IL.
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Peterson, S.M., Aljadeff-Abergel, E., Eldridge, R.R. et al. Conceptualizing Self-determination from a Behavioral Perspective: The Role of Choice, Self-control, and Self-management. J Behav Educ 30, 299–318 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-020-09368-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-020-09368-4