Going Off Script: Structure and Agency in Individualized Education Program Meetings

In this comparative case study, we draw from neoinstitutional and structuration theory to examine the individualized education program (IEP) meetings for five high school students identified with specific learning disabilities. Specifically, we examine how participants interacted during the IEP meetings and how learning, instruction, and postsecondary transition were discussed. Findings suggest that the IEP document served as the dominant script, or structure, for the IEP meetings. This dominant script established roles for participation and influenced participants’ agency within the meetings. We also highlight instances of disruption when participants exerted agency and went off script, breaking from the institutionalized structure of the meetings.