Nate posted an entry called Education Research over on his blog Cognitive Dissonance and it got me thinking (which I suppose is Nate’s goal in all of this). Not only did it get me thinking, but it also got me connecting things in my own mind - many of…

It is disconcerting that the only way to access ‘big money’ to make any type if ‘big difference’ within the field of education, is to play the game. The latest awarded grants were those who followed the clinical trials model of experimental design (e.g., those who got the drug and those who did not; both groups randomly assigned). The obvious message here is that the medical model is the ‘best’ model for intervention research. The challenge here was eloquently described above.

It must be noted, and has been often, that other equally valid forms of research exist. Hopefully we can get back to making a difference in the lives of children with disabilities once we have new administration in the White House…but I am sure this will not happen any time soon.