The role of research in the future of special education is discussed. The impact of research on practice is exemplified in the rise of the mainstreaming movement from research findings unable to find benefits in special class instruction for the mildly handicapped. The continuing ambivalence of the practitioner toward research is noted. The past 30 years of research efforts suggest the need for organizational support of intensive and long-term research, the development of more sophisticated research instruments, and more long-term programmatic research. Priority areas for research include: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention; language development; family interactions; lifespan studies; social processes; technology; models of social and cognitive processes; and program evaluation. Also needed are institutions that will transform research knowledge into differential curriculum or different teacher strategies and more studies designed to answer meaningful research questions and important problems, even if this necessitates less than elegant research methodology. (DB)