VIDBE-Q Volume 66 Issue 3
programming. Through exploration, I focused on self-determination, as that is the
one area I believe, that connects all other eight ECC areas into a cohesive
curriculum. Based on my experience in teacher preparation, it was not an area that
was discussed in depth, yet the skills and components that comprise self-
determination can make or break a student's employability and success in post-
secondary education. Research has shown the tremendous gaps in employment
(McDonnall, 2010; McDonnall & Sui, 2019) as well as completion of college
(Schuck et al., 2019) within our student population. Why don't we as teachers use
the ECC standards that was presented to the field by Dr. Hatlen in 1996, and
furthered justified by the publication of ECC Essentials (Allman & Lewis, 2014)?
I chose mixed methods to explore my topic. This methodology allows for
both inductive and deductive reasoning processes, while triangulation of data
strengthens the findings. Furthermore, I believe that research can only be socially
valid when participants are included, and their voices are amplified. In this case, I
want to ensure that TVIs are heard and not used to simply test some hypothesis. In
this process, first, I will attempt to gather information on what paths TVIs took
before they settled into our rewarding field. Then review their current working
knowledge of and their instructional strategies used for instruction of self-
determination.
