Special Education Research Grant Competitions Announced
March 31, 2016
Special Education Research Grant Competitions Announced
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the nation's engine for research that can be used to improve teaching, learning, and student outcomes. One of the major ways that IES fulfills its missions is through grants that can be used to identify and study educational challenges, develop and test innovative solutions, and prepare the next generation of education researchers.
Today (March 31, 2016), IES' National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) released funding announcements for the following FY 2017 grant competitions:
- Special Education Research Grants Program (84.324A): In FY 2017, this competition will accept applications that focus on teachers and other instructional personnel within 1 of 11 specific topic areas;
- Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions (84.324L); and
- Research Training Programs in Special Education (84.324B): In FY 2017, this competition will accept applications for Early Career Development and Mentoring grants.
More information about these competitions is available on the IES Funding Opportunities website. This website also has information about grant competitions from the National Center for Education Research (NCER).
Special Education Research Grants
The Special Education Research Grants program seeks to expand the knowledge base and understanding of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with or at risk for disabilities. Due to funding limitations, NCSER's FY 2017 research grants will focus on teachers and other instructional personnel who serve students with or at risk for disabilities. Grants can be funded for up to 5 years and support many kinds of projects, including exploratory research, development and pilot-testing of new interventions, efficacy and effectiveness studies, and measurement studies that focus on teachers and other instructional personnel within 11 different topic areas:
- Autism Spectrum Disorders;
- Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education;
- Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education;
- Families of Children with Disabilities;
- Mathematics and Science Education;
- Professional Development for Teachers and Other Instructional Personnel;
- Reading, Writing, and Language Development;
- Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning;
- Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems;
- Technology for Special Education; and
- Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students with Disabilities
Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions
The Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions competition is designed to support rigorous evaluations of special education interventions that state or local education agencies expect to produce meaningful improvements in student outcomes in a short period of time, such as a single semester or academic year. These interventions must focus on infants, toddlers, children, and/or youth with or at risk for disabilities and must be conducted within 2 years. The project will be carried out by research institutions and state or local education agencies working together as partners. The evaluations will use randomized controlled trials, regression discontinuity designs, or single-case experimental designs to determine the impact of special education interventions on student outcomes. IES is not specifying categories of interventions beyond those that can be evaluated in a timely fashion and are of high importance to the state or local agency.
Research Training Programs in Special Education
The Research Training Programs in Special Education competition is intended to prepare individuals to conduct rigorous and relevant research on special education and early intervention. For FY 2017, grants will be made under the Early Career Development and Mentoring Program, which seeks to build the next generation of special education and early intervention researchers by providing support for investigators who are in the early stages of their academic careers and have an interest in special education research. The award will provide support for research, including a salary for protected time to conduct research, as well as career development that includes training under the guidance of an experienced mentor or mentors.
Media Contact: Dana Tofig, Communications Director, Institute of Education Sciences, 202-245-8235, dana.tofig@ed.gov