Self-Determination in Social Context: A Social Cognitive Approach

Abstract

There is growing support for situating understandings of self-determination for students with disabilities in social and cultural contexts. However, exploration and expansion of theory is needed to illuminate the complexities of self-determination in the process of academic and career development, particularly for students from culturally diverse backgrounds. In an attempt to create this understanding we propose the use of social cognitive career theory because this theory of career and academic development accounts for both personal background and identity variables (e.g., disability, gender, and culture) and intrapersonal cognitive variables (e.g., coping-efficacy, self-efficacy) (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Whereas self-determination theory in special education is primarily concerned with cognitive variables.