Chapter 1 Evidence-Based Practices in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities: The Search for Effective Instruction

Abstract

The gap between research and practice in special education places an artificial ceiling on the achievement of students with learning and behavioral disabilities. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are instructional practices shown by bodies of sound research to be generally effective. They represent a possible means to address the research-to-practice gap by identifying, and subsequently implementing, the most effective instructional practices on the basis of reliable, scientific research. In this chapter, we provide a context for the subsequent chapters in this volume by (a) defining and describing EBPs, (b) recognizing some of important limitations to EBPs, (c) introducing a number of ongoing issues related to EBPs in the field of learning and behavioral disabilities that are addressed by chapter authors in this volume, and (d) briefly considering a few emerging issues related to EBPs that we believe will become increasingly prominent in the near future.

Citation

Cook, B.G., Tankersley, M. and Landrum, T.J. (2013), "Chapter 1 Evidence-Based Practices in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities: The Search for Effective Instruction", Cook, B.G., Tankersley, M. and Landrum, T.J. (Ed.) Evidence-Based Practices (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 26), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X(2013)0000026003