Students With Learning Disabilities in the Social Studies: A Meta-Analysis of Intervention Research. (July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ciullo, Stephen; Collins, Alyson; Wissinger, Daniel R.; McKenna, John William; Lo, Yu-Ling; Osman, David
• Is Part Of: Exceptional children. Volume 86:Number 4(2020)
• Page Start: 393
• Page End: 412
• Publication Date: 2020-07
• Subjects: Special education -- Periodicals; Children with disabilities -- Education -- Periodicals; 371.9
• DOI: 10.1177/0014402919893932
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0014-4029

Abstract

This meta-analysis synthesized over 40 years of research ( k = 42 studies) in the social studies for students with learning disabilities. We analyzed the various mechanisms that researchers have used to improve outcomes in the social studies by conducting a subgroup investigation of interventions targeting the following instructional categories: (a) content acquisition, (b) general literacy in social studies, (c) alternative or digitized text, and (d) historical reasoning. The subgroup meta-analyses resulted in considerable variability across study and intervention components. Meta-analysis robust variance estimation procedures were used to aggregate standardized mean difference effect sizes of treatment and comparison groups. Implications for future research and suggestions for classroom instruction are provided.