Introduction: This descriptive study identified types of articles published and research designs used in targeted special education journals. Articles in visual impairment (i.e., low vision or blindness) published between 2012 and 2017 were examined to determine what literature informed the field during the 6-year period. Method: A total of 4,850…

This descriptive study focused on identifying types of research conducted in the area of intellectual disability (ID) and published in peer-reviewed journals identified from professional organizations, experts in the field, and databases. The most common research design implemented with IDEA-eligible individuals identified as having ID was single…

The passing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act---later renamed the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act---mandated that schools and districts ensure that all available education services were comparable between students with disabilities and general education students. This mandate led to students with disabilities and…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disability for which prevalence rates continue to increase. Persons with ASD vary widely in both severity of disability and services required. Therefore it is important to identify trends in research and evaluate progress in the field. The current study uses a journal analysis to evaluate research over…

Special educators are required to use evidence-based academic and behavioral interventions in their classrooms (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). No rigorous and comprehensive database currently exists to support educators. Within the field of special education, single-subject research is the primary research methodology (Horner, Carr, Halle,…

Technology and engineering educators have an opportunity to serve a vital role in contributing to or assisting in the guidance of educational programming for students qualifying for accommodation services. Within this article, students referred to as at-risk were from two specific special populations within this group: individuals with…

We conducted an exploratory content analysis of disability research in 5 major counseling psychology journals between 1990 and 2010. The goal was to review the counseling psychology literature to better understand the prevalence of disability research, identify research methods most often conducted, and elucidate the types of concerns most…

In post-Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana, there is a growing concentration of charter schools. The Recovery School District (RSD) has oversight of the majority of these schools. To explore charges from community advocates that RSD charter schools restricted admission and provided inadequate services for students with disabilities, the following…

This bestselling work provides practitioners with a complete guide to implementing response to intervention (RTI) in schools. The authors are leading experts who explain the main components of RTI--high-quality instruction, frequent assessment, and data-based decision making--and show how to use it to foster positive academic and behavioral…

A major tenet of both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act is the identification and use of evidence-based practices, or those instructional techniques shown by research as most likely to improve student outcomes meaningfully. However, much confusion exists regarding the meaning and potential…

Context: The context for this article is the public response to the federal role in the oversight and enforcement of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This response has been characterized by a tension between concerns about federal interference in public education and support for…

This paper focuses on transition programs for youth to postsecondary education, broadly considered. It addresses the following questions: (1) What models or programs of transition exist? (2) On what basis can we say one transition program is more effective than another? In other words, how is successful transition defined? (3) How are…

The authors analyzed student data from the U.S. Department of Education's "Annual Reports to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" to asses patterns and trends in the educational placement of students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD), as well as their means of school exit and the…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…