Centering the Margins: Dynamic Systems, Targeted Universalism, and Special Education

Abstract

This commentary outlines the potential benefits of applying advances in the science of learning and development to special education service delivery and research. Building from a dynamic ecological systems perspective of development, it is argued that special education should focus on the whole child in context to leverage the correlated contributions of multiple factors in the learning and development of students with disabilities. The concept of targeted universalism is presented as a framework for creating universal service delivery structures that are centered on tailoring supports to the daily experiences and functioning of students who receive special education. Person-oriented analysis and longitudinal, idiographic designs are considered as an approach to guide the development and evaluation of such frameworks.