Inclusive Postsecondary Education and Self-Determination: Using Photovoice to Centre Student Voices in the United States of America

Self-determination, or the freedom to act as the primary causal agent in one’s life, is a well-documented component of enhanced quality of life. Yet young adults with disabilities are often less self-determined than their non-disabled peers. Furthermore, there is an absence of the voices of young adults with disabilities in the literature related to self-determination. This study utilizes photovoice, a participatory method, to understand how U.S. college students with intellectual disabilities understand self-determination. From this study we illuminate how self-determination is enhanced through equality of opportunity and how sense of belonging is related to self-determination.