Preparing Special Educators to Generalize Evidence-Based Practices Across Students and Situations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Closing the research-to-practice gap in special education requires high-quality training that enables educators to generalize evidence-based practices (EBPs) across students, settings, and situations. In this systematic review, we identified 52 studies published in 50 articles that measured generalization of teacher, pre-service teacher, or paraeducator fidelity of practices for students with disabilities. Most studies used a combination of didactic instruction, roleplay, modeling, and performance feedback to train practitioners to implement educational practices. Consistent with previous reviews, most studies (77%) did not report using any specific approach to promote generalization of practitioner implementation. Results showed that although this approach did sometimes lead to generalization, results were mixed. In other studies, researchers programmed for generalization using strategies such as mediating generalization, training educators to generalize, or sequential modification through performance feedback. We offer suggestions for how researchers can design studies to measure generalized effects, and how educators can leverage strategies for generalization.