Special Education Research in Europe

Abstract

Research in special education has grown substantially in recent years. An overview is offered of special education research in Europe over the past decade. This is based on an analysis of the papers published in the European Journal of Special Needs Education in the ten years 1998–2007. A wide range of topics were covered in these, with the most common being parents and the family, teachers and teacher attitudes, special education policy, pupils’ social and emotional development, early years provision and language development. Most papers were empirical, both quantitative and qualitative, though a good number of theoretical and descriptive pieces were published as well. Only a few review papers were published. While papers originated from across Europe, the great majority came from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Scandinavian countries, Israel and Greece. For the future, greater concentration of research efforts is recommended, as well as more attention to some key topics which are currently under–researched.