Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap

Abstract

The contribution of research findings to the education of Americas students, including those with disabilities, depends on the quality of and market demand for research findings. This paper presents a rationale and suggestions for increasing the quality of and market demand for research findings as a vital component of any serious effort to improve American education. Responses to the paper are from representatives of the American Federation of Teachers; Learning Disabilities Association; National Alliance of Business; National Association of State Directors of Special Education; and Staff Director, Disability Policy Subcommittee, U.S. Senate. An additional response, which also synthesizes all responses, is provided by The Council for Exceptional Children.

Sustained Effects of the PATHS Curriculum on the Social and Psychological Adjustment of Children in Special Education

“…Recently, special educators have called for a new agenda of prevention within special education (Farmer, Quinn, Hussey, & Holahan, 2001;Forness et al, 2000;Kamps, Kravits, Stolze, & Swaggart, 1999;Kauffman, 1999a;Walker et al, 1998). Others have called on school psychologists and special educators to make better use of evidence-supported prevention/intervention (Carnine, 1997;Simpson, 1999;. In particular, some leaders in the field have suggested that special educators should embrace primary and secondary prevention, which, when effectively implemented, can reduce the need for tertiary prevention and other forms of costly treatments for special education students (see Farmer et al, 2001;Forness et al, 2000;Kauffman, 1999b).…”

Promoting Open Science to Increase the Trustworthiness of Evidence in Special Education

“…Trustworthiness refers to the extent to which the research methods and data underlying findings can be considered reliable and valid representations of reality (Carnine, 1997;. Trustworthiness (i.e., validity) of research findings is based on many considerations, including rigor of research design and quality of study method.…”

To Ensure the Learning of Every Child with a Disability

“…For years, educational practice has been plagued by the infamous research-practice gap (e.g., Carnine, 1997;Elmore, 1996;Gersten, Vaughn, Deshler, & Schiller, 1997;Greenwood & Abbott, 2001;Kauffman, 1996;Kennedy, 1997;Robinson, 1998). Too often, research in special education has been limited to small-scale fragmented research initiatives.…”