This paper is an exploration of how an educational method, Explicit Instruction (EI), is used and reflected upon in research in relation to special educational needs in mathematics (SEM) in early school years. The current research front is put in relation to the Swedish curricula in mathematics and the Swedish school act (steering documents) to explore potential possibilities and challenges of the research findings in a Swedish context. The analysis was done in three steps: 1) a systematic search of research literature, 2) a content analysis of the literature 3) a relation of the results of to the steering documents. The exploration of the possibilities of EI displays that EI can contribute to every student's learning by providing a distinct structure in relation to the mathematical content. It displays challenges for special education in mathematics regarding collaboration between teachers, the competence of teachers, and time to plan the EI and time for the students working with EI.