Dr. Tanis Bryan graduated from Northwestern University during the beginning of the field of learning disabilities. From this beginning, Tanis has provided invaluable insight into the field through her desire to understand the social dimensions of learning disabilities. The author wishes to thank Tanis for her assistance with this interview.

Kristin L. Sayeski introduces the reader to Dan Hallahan and provides a synopsis of his educational background. She reports Hallahan received his BA in psychology in 1967 and his PhD in education and psychology in 1971 from the University of Michigan, then began his career as an assistant professor in special education at the University of…

A tension exists between educational practitioners and researchers, which is often attributed to their dichotomous and oftentimes polarizing professional ideologies or Discourse communities. When determining what works in education, researchers tend to emphasize evidencebased practices (EBPs) supported by research that is rigorous and internally…

Klingner and Boardman (this issue) offer a cogent and compelling argument for opening the door for the acceptance and use of mixed methods in special education research. Self-identifying as pragmatists, they embody this paradigmatic view by focusing on the utility, efficacy, and accuracy of mixed methods, an argument that should appeal to the…

Stimulated by special educational needs co-ordinators' (SENCos) reactions to a published image, the researchers used photovoice methodology to explore SENCos' images of themselves in relation to the perceptions of three groups of their colleagues: senior management team, teachers and teaching assistants. The analysis of the images involved the…

For many years Larry Coleman created and ran programs for gifted children, studied the great (and not so great) works in the field of gifted studies, then quietly went about conducting studies that became watermarks in the field. His work on stigma of giftedness, the cognitive map of expertise of a single teacher of gifted children, the importance…

Within the context of a multilayered prevention system, responsiveness to intervention (RTI) integrates increasingly intensive instruction and, at each layer, employs assessment to identify students who are inadequately responsive and who therefore require intervention at the next, more intensive layer in the system. Over the past decade, RTI has…

This article by a recipient of the Council for Exceptional Children's Research Award presents the author's perspective of research as detective work, starting from the investigation of dyslexia, and progressing to such topics as the design of secondary education for students with learning disabilities, dropouts, classroom and instructional…

Current ferment in the field of special education reflects the underlying pathology of the educational enterprise. Black special educators are in a strategic position to assert Black demands for philosophical and pedagogical changes. (ST)

The federal role of developing connections between researchers and practitioners in education is discussed, with attention to the activities of the Office of Special Education Programs' Division of Innovation and Development. Changes in the roles of teachers in applying research knowledge are considered. (SW)

This article proposes that research into special educational needs has to explore the meaning of the phrase "special needs" and the values that underpin this phrase. It concludes this process will entail the development of new forms of inquiry, new ways of working, and new ways of thinking about research. (Contains 2 references.) (Author/CR)

Argues that federal policy decisions have shaped a particular configuration of services for low achieving readers at the school level because prevailing definitions conceptualize reading failure as a disability rather than as a disadvantage. Notes that reading researchers must be aware of this if low achieving children are to benefit from advances…

This article describes action-oriented teacher research in which teachers use information students reveal about the competent aspects of their lives as learners to direct their teaching efforts. The article notes methodological considerations of this approach and applications to the study of special education. (Author/DB)

The concept of mediated learning is examined, focusing on the work of L. Vygotsky (1896-1934) and R. Feuerstein (born 1921). Mediated learning is the subtle social interaction between teacher and learner in the enrichment of the student's learning experience. Both theorists take a strong sociological approach to the development of intelligence and…