How individualised are the Individualised Education Programmes (IEPs): an analysis of the contents and quality of the IEPs goals

The Individualised Education Programme (IEP) is a fundamental document that describes all educational responses to the additional support needs of students, setting up the guideline for their learning and developmental experiences. Specifically, the IEP goals represent the personal destination translated into desirable behaviours and skills that will enable students with additional support needs to meet their educational and functional needs. This paper analysis the quality of the 2497 IEP goals established for 135 Portuguese students with additional support needs and their fit to the students’ level of severity and educational level. The quality of IEP goals was measured using the Revised IFSP/IEP Goals and Objectives Rating Instrument and the content was categorised in reference to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, version for Children and Youth. Findings showed that goals are generally poorly written, particularly in terms of their measurability and that their quality decreases as students’ progress in education. Results also showed that IEP goals for students with a highly individualised curriculum do not attend to their needs of more functional contents. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher training.