Broadening Our Understanding of Evidence-Based Practice: Effective and Discredited Interventions

Lost in Translation: Educational Psychologists as Intermediaries Between Neuroscience and Education

“…Yet this offers no guarantee: In the United States, federal law requires "special education, related services, and supplemental aids and services [to] be based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable" (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004); despite this mandate, special education is not "immune to a research-topractice gap, " as some practices with little empirical support are often used whereas others with strong support are seldom used (e.g., Burns and Ysseldyke, 2009, p. 3). Even school psychologists, trained in evidence-based practice and intimately involved in special education, overestimate empirical support for ineffective techniques discredited by behavioral research (Zaboski et al, 2017). This issue intensifies in the context of neuroscience research: Neuroscience (e.g., cognitive, developmental, affective) is not typically covered in American school psychology graduate curricula (e.g., Joyce-Beaulieu and Rossen, 2014), nor is it required for program accreditation (National Association of School Psychologists, 2010 or assessed in candidate testing (Educational Testing Service, 2018).…”