Sustainability of Research-Based Practices

Abstract

Recent advances in research on best practices for educating students with disabilities have improved the knowledge base about these practices. However, there remains a significant gap between the knowledge we have about these best practices, and the extent to which it has been implemented. Two common and simple explanations for this complex problem, “blame the teacher” and “blame the researcher,” are both inadequate to explain this gap. Sustainability grants are designed to help understand linkages between research and practice, so that the knowledge about effective practices might be better represented and implemented in classrooms. Some facilitators for sustainability are the ability of teachers to give input along the way; and a feeling of collaboration, sensitivity, and responsiveness between the researcher and the practitioner. Issues related to the extent to which sustainability can reasonably be expected over time are presented.