Students with disabilities have complex learning needs. It wasn't until the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) that federal attention was pointed towards students who are both gifted "and" have a disability. This concept, known as twice-exceptionality, is a difficult concept to fully…

The challenges of working within rural schools can impact successful implementation of a multitiered system of supports (MTSS). Although special education and general education teachers' responsibilities within a MTSS framework have been addressed through a myriad of school districts across the nation, rural districts face unique challenges that…

The purpose of this best evidence synthesis was to identify promising interventions that align with a theoretical model of early writing development, targeting three components of early writing: transcription, text generation, and self-regulation. We determined the extent to which these interventions are effective for children who struggle with…

Most evidence-based autism spectrum disorder (ASD) interventions are tested with primarily White, mid-upper class, English-speaking populations, despite the increase in Latino children with ASD in early intervention programs throughout the United States. Unfortunately, interventions that are incongruent with a target population's culture may be…

Large-scale online learning environments such as MOOCs provide an opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of learning strategies in an informal learning context with a diverse learner population. Here, we evaluate the extent to which retrieval practice -- recognized as one of the most effective learning strategies -- facilitates long-term knowledge…

The purpose of our study was to describe research attitudes of undergraduate social work students and to identify individual characteristics associated with positive research attitudes. Our data were collected in the spring semester of 2016 through an online survey at a midsize state university with 170 study participants. Research attitudes were…

School-based sexuality education provides a means of disseminating valuable information about decision making and avoidance of risky behaviors that may result in an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection; however, effective teacher training is required for efficacious sexuality education programs. The purpose of this paper is to…

This national survey of PhD faculty assessed the research preparation of entering doctoral social work students on a wide range of research knowledge and related skills. The prior literature shows that PhD programs repeat much BSW and MSW research course content. This study shows that the trend continues and has perhaps widened. PhD research…

Methods for meta-analyzing single-case designs (SCDs) are needed to inform evidence-based practice in clinical and school settings and to draw broader and more defensible generalizations in areas where SCDs comprise a large part of the research base. The most widely used outcomes in single-case research are measures of behavior collected using…

This document presents the testimony of MDRC's Alex Mayer, the Deputy Director for Postsecondary Education at MDRC. The three points that Alex Mayer emphasizes in this testimony before the California State Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance on integrating postsecondary education interventions to…

Data-based problem solving within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) can help state education agencies and local education agencies (LEAs) improve graduation rates for students with disabilities. To facilitate problem solving within an MTSS, states and LEAs need efficient systems and processes for analyzing and integrating data across…

Recently, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been advocated as a promising approach in higher education (Eaker & Sells, 2015) for faculty development that can improve student learning outcomes and help students graduate with demonstrable skills, yet the field is still lacking in research on this phenomenon within higher education…

In the United States, broad study in an array of different disciplines--arts, humanities, science, mathematics, engineering--as well as an in-depth study within a special area of interest, have been defining characteristics of a higher education. But over time, in-depth study in a major discipline has come to dominate the curricula at many…

The Evidence-Centered Design (ECD) framework was used to create a special education teacher observation system, Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET). Extensive reviews of research informed the domain analysis and modeling stages, and led to the conceptual framework in which effective special education teaching is…

While the number of teachers in mainstream schools in England has remained relatively steady over the last decade or so, the number of full-time equivalent TAs has more than trebled since 2000: from 79,000 to 243,700. Teaching assistants comprise over a quarter of the workforce in mainstream schools in England: 35% of the primary workforce, and…