Conductive education: the case for further research

This paper presents the case for further research into Conductive Education arguing that the Department of Education report (Bairstow, Cochrane and Hur, 1993) by attempting to evaluate the practice of Conductive Education has in relying upon an experimental research strategy produced a narrow construction of the methods and practice of Conductive Education. The timing and methodologies used in the report are questioned and attention is drawn to developments in child disability research that challenge the manner in which researchers construct the lives of children with disabilities. Recommendations for the research community suggest that future studies move away from experimental or quasi-experimental research designs towards understanding of the child in its entirety and to accept the importance of the perspectives of service users, particularly the parents. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.