A STUDY EXAMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ME! LESSONS TO TEACH SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-ADVOCACY TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Abstract

A small-n design called the multi-element baseline design with a pre-intervention baseline and a phenomenological approach was used to examine the effectiveness of an instructional program called ME! Lessons to Teach Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy when used with high school students with disabilities. Six 9th grade students, one special education teacher, and six parents participated in this five-week study.

The ME! Lessons to Teach Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy include 10 instructional units with two to four lessons in each unit linked to the Oklahoma PASS standards. ME! topics include special education rights and responsibilities, IEP documents, understanding of strengths and weaknesses, accommodations, and appropriate use of self-advocacy skills. The lessons use a variety of activities including role-playing, case studies, PowerPoint presentations, teacher-directed instruction, video clips, a student research project, and student examination of their IEP documents. Students developed a portfolio while completing the lessons, which contained information needed for future self-advocacy interactions. The purpose of the ME! curriculum is to facilitate the teaching and learning of self-awareness and self-advocacy knowledge and skills. The long-term goal of the curriculum is to develop self-aware adults who advocate for their needs in education and employment in a meaningful productive way.

Results indicate that the ME! lessons increased students' self-awareness and self-advocacy knowledge and behaviors. Additionally, parent, student, and teacher reported that they believed the lesson content was useful and practical.