Michael Wehmeyer

Michael Wehmeyer
Born (1957-10-09) October 9, 1957
Residence United States
Fields Special education, Psychology
Institutions University of Kansas
Alma mater University of Tulsa, University of Sussex, University of Texas at Dallas

Michael Lee Wehmeyer (/ˌmkəl l ˈwmər/ MY-kəl-lee-WAY-my-ər; born October 9, 1957[1]) is the Ross and Marianna Beach Distinguished Professor of Special Education at the University of Kansas.[2] His research focuses on self-determination, the application of positive psychology and strengths-based approaches to disability, the education of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and access to the general curriculum for such students.[2] He is Director and Senior Scientist at Kansas University's Beach Center on Disability,[3] and Co-Director of the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities.[4]

Education

Wehmeyer earned his BS and MA in Special Education in 1980 and 1982 from the University of Tulsa. In 2013, he was an alumni inductee of Phi Beta Kappa Arts and Sciences Honor Society-Beta of Oklahoma chapter at the University of Tulsa.[5] He was a Rotary International Fellow at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England in 1987 and 1988, receiving the M.Sc. in Experimental Psychology from the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Centre for Research on Perception and Cognition at Sussex in 1988. He received his PhD in 1989 from the University of Texas at Dallas, in the subject of human development and communication sciences. In 2014, he received The University of Texas at Dallas Distinguished Alumni Award on behalf of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.[6]

Research and teaching

Professor Wehmeyer's research has focused on the application of the self-determination construct to the disability context.[7] Self-determination is a construct that has its origins in 17th and 18th Century philosophical doctrines pertaining to free will and determinism. In the early 20th Century, the discipline of psychology applied its experimental approach to issues pertaining to self-determination, examining the degree to which a person’s actions or behaviors are ‘caused’ (e.g., determined) by internal factors or forces (auto-determinism or self-determination) or forces or factors external to the person (hetero-determinism or other-determined).[8] Through much of the latter half of the 20th Century the primary use of the self-determination construct was in its application in the field of motivational psychology, particularly in the context of Self-Determination Theory. In 1992, Wehmeyer proposed a definition of the construct and a general framework drawing from research and knowledge in education and psychology, referred to as the functional model of self-determination, which served as a catalyst in the development of autonomy-supportive interventions to promote student self-determination.[9] Most recently, Wehmeyer and colleagues have introduced Causal Agency Theory, which extends work to create autonomy-motivating interventions from the functional theory to align with Self-Determination Theory and Action-Control Belief Theory to describe a developmental process by which people engage in causal action and become more self-determined.[10]

Wehmeyer has co-authored or co-edited 32 books in the fields of special education and psychology, and has written more than 325 book chapters and journal articles.[2] He is a co-author of the Supports Intensity Scales for Adults and Children of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD),[11] and of the 11th Edition of the AAIDD Intellectual Disability Terminology, Classification, and Systems of Supports Manual.[12] He also trains teachers who work with students with multiple, severe disabilities.[2]

He is a Fellow and Vice-President of the Americas of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities,[13] and he is a fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, of which he is also a past president.[2][14] He is also a co-editor of the AAIDD e-journal, Inclusion.[2] From 2004 to 2005, Wehmeyer was president of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition,[15] and he is a past editor-in-chief of the journal Remedial and Special Education.[2]

Awards

Dr. Wehmeyer has received several awards for his research. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Researcher Award from The Arc of the United States, presented to a career academic researcher whose work has significantly advanced the field of research in intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 2015, Dr. Wehmeyer received the American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions to the Advancement of Disability Issues in Psychology Award, the 2015 AAIDD Research Award for contributions that have contributed significantly to the body of scientific knowledge in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities,[16] and the Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award,[17] presented to a person who has made significant contributions to the field of intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and/or autism. In the same year, Dr. Wehmeyer received the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards, Balfour S. Jefferey Award, given in recognition of research achievement in the humanities and social sciences to an individual who may be described as having had a major and substantial impact and who has been of national and/or international interest.[18] Dr. Wehmeyer was recognized with the 2016 Special Education Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children,[19] given to an individual or research team whose research has made significant contributions to the education of children and youth with exceptionalities.

Selected bibliography

References

  1. VIAF: "Wehmeyer, Michael L."
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Michael Wehmeyer, Ph.D.". School of Education, the University of Kansas. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  3. "Beach Center on Disability". Beach Center on Disability, University of Kansas. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  4. "Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities". Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, University of Kansas. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  5. "2013 Chapter Inductees". Beta Chapter of Oklahoma, The University of Tulsa. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  6. "List of University Award Recipients". University of Texas at Dallas. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  7. "Self-Determination and the Education of Students with Disabilities". ERIC Clearinghouse. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  8. "A Theoretical Model for Personality Studies". www.panarchy.org. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  9. "Self-Determination and the Education of Students with Mental Retardation". ERIC Clearinghouse. JSTOR 23878861.
  10. "Causal Agency Theory: Reconceptualizing a Functional Model of Self-Determination" (PDF). Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  11. "SIS Product Information". American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  12. "Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports (11th Edition)". American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  13. "About IASSIDD, IASSIDD Council-2012-2016". International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  14. "AAIDD Fellows in Good Standing 2014-2015" (PDF). American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  15. "Past Presidents". Division on Career Development and Transition, Council for Exceptional Children. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  16. "Award Program, 2015" (PDF). American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. p. 10. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  17. "CEC DADD Awards". Council for Exceptional Children. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  18. "Four named recipients of Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards". University of Kansas. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  19. "Professional and Student Awards". Council for Exceptional Children. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
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