Shared Advocacy: A Multiple-case Examination of Practices Supporting Postsecondary Students with Learning and Attention Differences

摘要

This multiple-case study examined the practices of academic support providers who offered supplemental services for students with learning or attention differences at postsecondary institutions. Students with learning or attention differences transitioning to postsecondary institutions may need assistance developing self-advocacy through practice. The study employed self-determination theory and positive psychology (Deci & Ryan, 2002; Seligman, 2011), asking the central research question, "How do academic support providers at postsecondary institutions offer shared-advocacy, promoting intrinsic motivation through accommodative intervention strategies for students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD?" Previously unheard perspectives of academic support providers at five postsecondary institutions presented these insights. Analysis occurred through description, classification, and interpretation of the data collected from interviews, focus groups and supporting documentation. Triangulation of inputs formed a picture of each institution, embedded in the interactions between support providers, the environment, and those they collaborated with to provide support for students with learning and attention differences (Yin, 2014). Cross-case analysis from each of five postsecondary institutions yielded a synthesized understanding of practitioner responses that facilitate self-determination. Through analysis, common themes emerged including connectivity, accessibility, eligibility, responsivity, and extended support. Findings described the process for establishing new services, types of accommodations made available, means for disseminating accessibility of new options, effective practices of academic support providers and circumstances that worked in their favor when initiating new support systems.