Review of Interventions Supporting Secondary Students with Intellectual Disability in General Education Classes

Abstract

Instruction and support for students with intellectual disability in general education classes should be informed by research-based interventions. In this systematic review, we examined the focus and impact of interventions delivered in inclusive classes to support middle and high school students with intellectual disability. We identified 40 intervention studies involving 177 secondary students with intellectual disability attending a range of core academic and elective classes. These multicomponent interventions fell within five primary categories: systematic instruction, peer support arrangements, self-management strategies, peer-mediated communication interventions, and educational placement changes. Although the overall focus was fairly balanced across academic, social, and behavioral outcomes, each intervention approach prioritized somewhat different dependent measures. Moreover, although the impact of the interventions on most outcomes was positive, the methodological quality of these studies was somewhat varied. We offer recommendations for future research and practice aimed at strengthening the availability and implementation of effective interventions within inclusive secondary school classes.

Working smarter not harder: Inclusive lessons for middle school science

“…One study was set in the third grade (Clarke et al, 2016) it was still included even though the setting was below middle school because the subject area, science, and strategy, response cards, were deemed applicable to middle school science. The study used response cards which are a strategy for participation which is recommended for use in middle and high school science (Schwab et al, 2013) (Alquraini & Gut, 2012) ü (Capp, 2017) ü (Hudson et al, 2013) ü (McAllum, 2014) ü ü (Ohtake, 2003) ü (Sorensen & Andersen, 2017) ü Middle and High School (Awada & Plana, 2018) ü (Bradley, 2016) ü (Carter, et al, 2007) ü Art (Casale-Giannola, 2012) ü ü ü ü Health (Cihak & Castle, 2011) ü (Doğanay et al, 2014) ü (Duchaine et al, 2018) ü ü (Hitchcock et al, 2016) ü (Karhu et al, 2018) ü (Kuntz & Carter, 2019) ü (Lourenco, et al, 2015) ü (Mastropieri et al, 2005) ü ü (Mastropieri et al, 2006) ü (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2001) ü ü ü ü (Montague et al, 2011) ü (Morningstar et al, 2015) ü (Mulcahy et al, 2014) ü (Trussell et al, 2016) ü (Wehmeyer et al, 2003) ü Intermediate (Alasim, 2018) ü (Berry, 2006) ü (Florian & Beaton, 2018) ü (Mason et al, 2017) ü (Rappolt-Schlichtmann et al, 2013) ü (Schmidt et al, 2002) ü (Wood et al, 2015) ü (Zhang et al, 2015) ü Elementary (Clarke et al, 2016) ü ü…”

“…For instance, studies coded with complex strategies (e.g. UDL, DI, and strategy instruction) inherently contain teacher practices that overlap with less complex teacher practice category (Alquraini & Gut, 2012;Casale-Giannola, 2012;Doğanay Bilgi & Özmen, 2014;Kuntz & Carter, 2019;Mulcahy et al, 2014). I gauged complexity of the strategies based on her assessment of the amount of planning, resources, and training the teacher may need to learn and implement the strategy.…”

“…Three found strategy instruction beneficial for students with learning disabilities (Awada & Plana, 2018;Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2001;McAllum, 2014). Five found strategy instruction to be beneficial for students with low incidence disabilities ((Doğanay Bilgi & Özmen, 2014;Hudson et al, 2013;Kuntz & Carter, 2019;Wehmeyer et al, 2003;Wood et al, 2015). Eleven of the 15 articles were set in middle or high school classes with three specifically set in science classes.…”

“…Educating students in the same space without appropriate learning activities or supports is not inclusion and can result in negative experiences (Kauffman et al, 2005). Unfortunately, some educators tasked with making inclusion work lack sufficient training (Dieker, 2007;Horrocks et al, 2008;Kuntz & Carter, 2019). These teachers may struggle to provide supports that promote student access and progress in the curriculum (Lee et al, 2010).…”

“…However, addressing teachers' negative attitudes may be a more effective intervention for elementary grades as in middle and high school grades addressing attitudes alone did not result in increased use of inclusive practices (Bender et al,2008). Research-based supports and strategies can increase inclusion of students with disabilities at higher grades (Kuntz & Carter, 2019). To increase inclusion additional professional development and training on effective inclusion strategies may be necessary for middle and high school teachers to facilitate inclusion (Bender et al, 2008;Mastropieri & Scruggs 2001;Terzi, 2014).…”