RESEARCH ON CHILDREN'S MAIN IDEA COMPREHENSION: A PROBLEM OF ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY

This article discusses the generalizability of educational research. The argument is made that educational researchers too frequently take the results from highly‐controlled, laboratory studies that possess low levels of ecological validity (generalizability) and apply them to real‐life, educational settings. It is further argued that this practice is dangerous and can lead to unjustified or erroneous educational recommendations. The research area of children's main idea comprehension of connected discourse is used to illustrate how a line of research can be overgeneralized and lead to unfounded conclusions and pedagogical implications. A discussion of the need for more generalizable prose comprehension research and the necessity of additional replication research concludes the article.