Advancing Research for All
From the thoughtful conversations, we now have a better understanding of our intellectual history and the beginnings of a special education research call to action agenda. Special education research in data-base decision making, reading strategies, PBIS, math instructional strategies, and many other areas demonstrate our commitment to quality research that is practical and makes a difference in the lives of children with and without disabilities. In addition to our commitment to all robust research designs, our mutual advances in single-case design research has established evidence-based practices (EBPs) for populations where once there were none. Lest we believe that the latter statement is hyperbole, it is not. If it were not for our collective efforts, we would not be having discussions about EBPs for small student populations that do not meet the criteria of larger group design studies.
Our list of actions started with a unified call for more research monies. The reality is that the resources that the United States spends on educational research relative to other areas are discouraging, destructive to our long-term infrastructure, and globally disgraceful to say the least. Making governmental officials aware that myopic budgeting has a lasting negative impact on the daily lives of all children is a serious challenge of our current times. The realization that the needed budget increases will not be happening in the near future force us to focus our efforts on how to tactically spend limited funds through the prioritization of areas with the greatest need.
From there, we described areas where we need to deepen our research knowledge and practices.
Those topics included but were not limited to study replication, mixed methodologies, research-to-practice knowledge, measurement practices, teacher effectiveness research, more longitudinal and meta-analysis studies, implementation fidelity research, study failure examination, and secondary data analyses. Also, we discussed the need for funding more doctoral students and initial career professionals, better using technology in research, examining the effectiveness and efficiency of instruction, integrating special education EBPs into general education settings, and meeting the needs non-responders.
The list of areas above is stimulating areas where we can advance special education research knowledge. It is my sincere hope that as we expand our knowledge, we will change the way we provide access to research. While a blessing and a curse, we live in a world where knowledge is just a few Google keystrokes away from our finger tips. We must take advantage of these technologies by bringing the rigor of our work to others rather than the other way around. As we produce the means to sharpen our methodological tools and increase our research knowledge, we must develop mechanisms by which we provide greater entree to presentation of meaningful data that collectively creates added-value, independence, and interdependency.