The Knowledge Bases for Special and General Education

Abstract

This study was designed to review generally the knowledge base relating to pedagogical procedures and then to determine whether special and general education teachers and educators in several other roles would agree on importance of the principles that emerged. The study began with a comprehensive synthesis of the research review literature related to learning. The literature covered 179 major publications in the fields of special and general education. The results were summarized in the form of a 228-item survey questionnaire on items potentially valuable for learning environments. The questionnaire was administered to a panel of advisors and eight other groups of educators, including general and special education teachers. In this article we report briefly on the literature synthesis, then summarize results of the surveys. Results showed a very high degree of consensus about variables considered important for creating learning environments. Consensus was especially strong among teachers, cutting across both general education and special education, a result interpreted as evidence that teacher preparation in the several fields could be done mainly in a single or combined program.