NCSER funds research on a broad variety of topics related to infants, children, and young adults with disabilities.
- Cognition and Student Learning
- Early Intervention and Early Learning
- Educators and School-Based Service Providers
- Families of Children with Disabilities
- Reading, Writing, and Language
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
- Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Competence
- Systems, Policy, and Finance
Technology for Special Education- Transition to Postsecondary Education, Career, and/or Independent Living
As you will see below, some areas receive more financial attention than others. The amount that IES (and NCSER) will have to “spend” varies somewhat from year to year based on the federal budget. Once a project is funded, it typically receives its full “promised” funding for the grant period (e.g., 3 years), unless the project fails to show progress (each year researchers who are funded by IES must submit a full and detailed report of their progress to IES). However, when federal budgets are tight, “popular” topics such as autism and early intervention will typically receive funding, while other topics ( such as technology) may receive limited funding, or no funding in a particular year. The challenge for researchers in areas that sometimes receive less funding is to determine if they can sensibly address their research questions in a “better funded” competition area ( e.g., address important questions related to assistive technology as part of an early intervention research project).
Although early intervention is typically the largest single category, research funding is spread evenly across the age groups.
updated 9-22