Classroom research for young children with disabilities: Assumptions that guided the conduct of research

During the past 30 years, substantial research activity generated a great d eal of knowledge about teaching young children with disabilities in classro oms. This research was conducted by a large number of investigators interes ted in different topics and issues related to development, learning, and-im portantly but less frequently-instruction. Retrospectively, our own researc h endeavors and experiences were guided implicitly and explicitly by five a ssumptions about how to approach important social issues and problems: (a) draw on findings from other areas of research, (b) use rigorous experimenta l methods, (c) rely on systematic replications to understand the applicabil ity and limitations of findings, (d) be alert to serendipitous findings and the feedback from others, and (e) attend to trends and shifts in perspecti ves, but follow the data when drawing suggestions about practice.