DEC Recommended Practices: A Review of 9 Years of EIlECSE Research Literature

Results are reported from an analysis of the research literature involving children with disabilities (age birth through 5), their families, personnel who serve them, and policies and systems change strategies related to the provision of services. The work reported in this article was part of a national effort by the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and several participating universities to develop a set of evidence-based recommended practices for the field. We reviewed research articles appearing in 48 peer-reviewed journals from 1990 to 1998. Analyses of the literature review database reveal trends in research methods used for studying particular topics and information about populations and settings studied during this time period.