Key Areas Measured

The Self-Determination Assessment_internet includes three instruments: Self-Determination Student Scale-Short Form (SDSS-SF), Self-Determination Parent Perception Scale (SDPPS), and Self-Determination Advisor Perception Scale (SDAPS). Each instrument focuses on and delineates those variables that are within the individual's control and are potential targets for instructional intervention. The model contains five components: (1) Know Yourself and Your Context, (2) Value Yourself, (3) Plan, (4) Act, and (5) Experience Outcomes and Learn.

(1) Know Yourself and Your Context

To know yourself and your context is to know your strengths and weaknesses, needs, and preferences. Your dreams about the future reveal what is important to you. The more you know about yourself, the better able you will be to determine, from the available options, the directions you wish to pursue.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale-Short Form (SDSS-SF):

• I know what is important to me.
• I dream about what my life will be like after I finish school.
• I know what is important when choosing my friends.
• I could not describe my strengths and weaknesses in school.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale (SDSS):

• I plan to explore many options before choosing a career.
• I can only think of one way to get something I want.
• I could not describe my strengths and weaknesses in school.
• I do not know if my parent's beliefs are important to me.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Parent Perception Scale (SDPPS):

  To what degree does your daughter or son:

• express dreams or possibilities?
• know her/his strengths?
• know his/her needs?
• explore options?
• make decisions?

Sample items from the Self-Determination Advisor Perception Scale (SDAPS):

  To what degree does the student:

• express dreams or possibilities?
• know her/his strengths?
• know his/her needs?
• explore options?
• make decisions?

(2) Value Yourself

To value yourself means that you accept and appreciate yourself. This does not mean that you are necessarily satisfied with everything about yourself but rather, that you can accept and believe in yourself, knowing that, like everyone, you have strengths and weaknesses. Feeling that you have a right to make important decisions about your life is fundamental to valuing yourself. Recognizing that you have limitations and weaknesses, and that this is a human condition, allows you to recognize the way these weaknesses or limitations affect you and what knowledge or skills were developed to compensate for them. Valuing yourself forms the foundation for developing positive relationships with others, a key to self-determination.

Accepting and valuing yourself also includes the ability and motivation to care for, or access care for, yourself emotionally, mentally, and physically. Understanding your rights and responsibilities is fundamental to believing in yourself and helps you develop positive, productive relationships with others. If you have a good idea about what you are responsible for and what your rights are, you are likely to have more control, and better relationships with others, in any situation.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale-Short Form (SDSS-SF):

• I think about what is good for me when I do things.
• In an argument, I am responsible for how I act on my feelings.
• Personal hygiene is important to me.
• I have the right to decide what I want to do.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale (SDSS):

• I have the right to decide what I want to do.
• I forget to take care of my needs when I am with my friends.
• I can be successful even though I have weaknesses.
• I do not participate in school activities because I have nothing to contribute.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Parent Perception Scale (SDPPS):

  To what degree does your daughter or son:

• accept and value herself/himself?
• find strength that comes from acknowledging weaknesses?
• recognize her/his responsibilities?
• take care of herself/himself?

Sample items from the Self-Determination Advisor Perception Scale (SDAPS):

  To what degree does the student:

• accept and value herself/himself?
• find strength that comes from acknowledging weaknesses?
• recognize her/his responsibilities?
• take care of herself/himself?

(3) Plan

If you have a plan, you're much more likely to achieve what you want. Planning includes establishing goals and determining steps to reach those goals. To effectively plan, you need to anticipate the possible consequences that may result from taking planned actions. This anticipation permits you to alter either the goal or the plan if the anticipated result is not what you wanted.

Making alternative plans, especially when encountering barriers, is a dynamic, creative, process. Finally, taking the time to prepare for and rehearse our planned actions—even if it's in your imagination---can improve performance and the likelihood of achieving your goals.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale-Short Form (SDSS-SF):

• Goals give my life direction.
• I know what grades I am working toward in my classes.
• My life has no direction.
• Before I do something, I think about what might happen.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale (SDSS):

• When I do not get something I want, I try a new approach.
• I imagine myself being successful.
• Before I give a report in class, I go over it in my mind.
• Before starting a part-time job or extracurricular activity, I think about how it might affect my school work.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Parent Perception Scale (SDPPS):

  To what degree does your daughter or son:

• set goals?
• plan?
• anticipate consequences?
• demonstrate creativity?

Sample items from the Self-Determination Advisor Perception Scale (SDAPS):

  To what degree does the student:

• set goals?
• plan?
• anticipate consequences?
• demonstrate creativity?

(4) Act

Planning without acting on the plan will, obviously, not result in achieving your goals. To act in a manner to accomplish a goal, you need to take a risk, to put yourself on the line to either succeed or fail, and, if you don't reach your goal, you will still have learned some lessons that will help you the next time you try to achieve a goal. To lessen some of the risks, you need to develop the ability to listen to and understand others, to communicate in ways that invite others to listen non-defensively, to negotiate win-win solutions to problems, to deal in positive or appropriately humorous ways with conflict and criticism, to access resources needed to implement a plan, and to be persistent in continuing your efforts until successful or until a different creative solution is found.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale-Short Form (SDSS-SF):

• Sometimes I need to take risks.
• If I need help with a school project, I can figure out where to get it.
• When I am angry with my friends, I talk with them about it.
• I know how to get help when I need it.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale (SDSS):

• I prefer to negotiate rather than to demand or give in.
• I give in when I have differences with others.
• I do not know where to get help to decide what I should do after I finish school.
• Before starting a part-time job or extracurricular activity, I think about how it might affect my school work.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Parent Perception Scale (SDPPS):

  To what degree does your daughter or son:

• demonstrate appropriate communication skills?
• access resources and support?
• deal appropriately with criticism?
• persist until a goal is accomplished?

Sample items from the Self-Determination Advisor Perception Scale (SDAPS):

  To what degree does the student:

• demonstrate appropriate communication skills?
• access resources and support?
• deal appropriately with criticism?
• persist until a goal is accomplished?

(5) Experience Outcomes and Learn

To recognize your success or to find ways to improve your success on the next attempt, you need to evaluate both the outcome (what happened) and your performance (what you did) while working to achieve your goal. If the results were successful, celebrate! It will help you be more successful the next time if you savor and celebrate the good things that happen in your life. If the results were not what you hoped for, then appropriate adjustments need to be made for the next attempt. By reflecting on your efforts to attain goals, you can increase both your awareness about your preferences and the skills that will help you be more self-determined on your next attempt. Practicing the process of self-determination, and reflecting on the process, is one of the most effective ways to further develop your capacity to be self-determined.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale-Short Form (SDSS-SF):

• I think about how I could have done some things better.
• I like it when my friends see me do well.
• I think about how well I did something.
• I feel proud when I succeed.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Student Scale (SDSS):

• My experiences in school will not affect my career choice.
• I make changes to improve my relationship with my family.
• At the end of the marking period, I compare my grades to those I expected.
• It is a waste of time to reflect on why things turned out the way they did.

Sample items from the Self-Determination Parent Perception Scale (SDPPS):

  To what degree does your daughter or son:

• compare outcomes to expectations?
• evaluate his/her performance?
• acknowledge her/his successes?
• adjust behavior to improve performance?

Sample items from the Self-Determination Advisor Perception Scale (SDAPS):

  To what degree does the student:

• compare outcomes to expectations?
• evaluate his/her performance?
• acknowledge her/his successes?
• adjust behavior to improve performance?