Research into practice in special education

In this article the authors outline a number of disparate reactions to the Gersten et al. (this issue) piece. Gersten et al. rightly point out that researchers' reluctance to draw conclusions from ambiguous data is at odds with educators' daily demands and serves to reduce the impact of research. In contrast, the authors argue that on those occasions when educators have confronted the application of undocumented practices, they have done society a great service. The lack of middle-level scientist/practitioners in the education field is discussed. This situation puts much more of a burden on educational practitioners and researchers to stretch themselves to communicate with each other. Issues of source credibility become paramount, and widespread dissemination of scientific criteria for evaluating claims is critical. Finally, it is argued that researchers and educators are kindred spirits at the epistemological level, because both are grounded in a "what works" epistemology.