A Meta-Analysis Examining the Evidence-Base of Mathematical Interventions for Students With Emotional Disturbances

Abstract

Math outcomes for students with disabilities, in particular students with emotional disturbance (ED), are bleak, warranting intervention strategies that have research to support their utility. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the literature of math interventions used with students with ED to improve math outcome variables. Our statistical analysis included 17 studies, categorized as addressing fractions, number sense, geometry and measurement, algebra, word problems, and “other.” Although only four of the included studies met all of the CEC-EBP (Council for Exceptional Children’s Standards for Evidence-Based of Practices in Special Education) quality indicators, results of effect size calculations suggest large effects for all interventions. Results of publication bias analyses were mixed. Limitations, directions for future research in this field, and implications for practice are discussed.

A Meta-Analysis of Single-Case Research Using Mathematics Manipulatives With Students At Risk or Identified With a Disability

“…This finding should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample (seven students identified with emotional and behavioral disorder [EBD]); however, it may raise concerns with providing a strictly academic intervention without incorporating a behavioral component for this population. Incorporating a behavioral component (e.g., self-management, token economy) in addition to an academic intervention using manipulatives may yield improved effects in both research and practice (Losinski et al, 2018). In the studies to date, six included a behavioral component in addition to an academic component, only one study included students with EBD.…”

“…Intervention effects were reported by calculating more than one ES as recommended by the field (Manolov, Guilera, & Solanas, 2017; Vannest, Peltier, & Haas, 2018). This decision was made because there is no consensus on one ES to use for SCED data (Kratochwill et al, 2013; Pustejovsky, 2018) and the practice of reporting multiple ESs has grown (Losinski, Ennis, Sanders, & Nelson, 2018; Maggin, Pustejovsky, & Johnson, 2017).…”

Effects of peer tutoring on middle school students’ mathematics self-concepts

“…Different psychological variables have been widely addressed in the field, such as anxiety or attitude towards mathematics [6,7,8,9]. Most studies reporting promising results for academic, social, and psychological variables showed close to medium effect sizes [10]. One of the variables that has yet to be thoroughly addressed is self-concept.…”

Cognitive Research and Mathematics Education—How Can Basic Research Reach the Classroom?

“…Examples of more applied research on numerical cognition include evaluations of effectiveness of interventions in early childhood (Mononen et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2016;Christodoulou et al, 2017;Nelson and McMaster, 2019); for older students (Jitendra et al, 2018;Stevens et al, 2018); across age groups (Dennis et al, 2016); and across different regions of the world (Conn, 2017). Other examples include interventions for students with emotional difficulties (Losinski et al, 2019); math anxiety (Namkung et al, 2019); or on attitudes toward achievement (Savelsbergh et al, 2016); the impact of homework (Fan et al, 2017); and specific teaching strategies (Capar and Tarim, 2015;Rittle-Johnson et al, 2017;Guillaume and Van Rinsveld, 2018).…”