THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE-BASE OF SPECIAL-EDUCATION - DO WE KNOW WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

Leading scholars in special education acknowledge that the field has r ecently come under intense public criticism. Various defenses have bee n offered, including the lack of appropriate conditions under which to implement the Knowledge base of special education. The nature of this knowledge base is examined, in particular the claim that special educ ation possesses scientifically derived technologies. Specifically, a c ase is made that the term ''science'' is misused and that the method o f empiricist science are inappropriately applied to study of special e ducation. It is concluded that many, if not most, of the criticisms le veled at special education can be traced back to this misunderstanding of science. As a result, the field would do well to reconsider its ph ilosophical ancestry.