ERIC Number: ED275094
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1984
Pages: 258
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Special Education Dissemination Project. Final Report.
Felker, Roberta M.
The final report summarizes activities of a 3-year project which accomplished the following goals: (1) identification of the most pressing concerns in special education currently facing state and local education policymakers; (2) location of research information through the U.S. Department of Education and other sources which address these issues; and (3) provision of this information to state and local policymakers in formats specifically tailored to their needs. The project employed a variety of communication mechanisms and formats (newsletters, electronic mail, conferences, research abstracts, issue briefs) to disseminate special education research to more than 3,000 education policymakers and administrators on four identified topics: special education technology, special education finance, related services, and special education program effectiveness. Among conclusions drawn from project evaluation data are that policymakers use research indirectly (rather than directly) to shape policy debates; that custom-tailored communication is a key to effective dissemination; and that dissemination strategies are most successful when selected according to suitability for a specific task, at a specific stage in the policy decision-making process. Appendices, consisting largely of copies of dissemination project materials, comprise 80 percent of the document, and include an annotated bibliography. (JW)
Descriptors: Decision Making, Disabilities, Educational Finance, Educational Policy, Educational Technology, Exceptional Child Research, Information Dissemination, Information Needs, Needs Assessment, Program Effectiveness, Pupil Personnel Services, Research and Development, Special Education, Theory Practice Relationship
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Policymakers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: National Association of State Boards of Education, Alexandria, VA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A