A Tale of Two Decades: Trends in Support for Federally Funded Experimental Research in Special Education

This study examined the trend in experimental studies by comparing the proportion of research grants with experimental designs that were funded by the Office of Special Education (OSEP) during 2 fiscal years (FYs) in the late 1980s (1987–1988) and 2 FYs in the late 1990s (1997–1998). Data from 2 FYs per decade were used to reduce the possibility that anomalous years were selected for comparison, as well as to strengthen the ability to ascertain trends over time. The findings indicate that there was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of funded experimental research from FYs 1987-1988 to FYs 1997-1998. Implications of these findings in terms of the evolution of educational research, and in terms of contemporary issues in special education research, are discussed.