Learning, Social, and Psychological Outcomes of Students with Moderate, Severe, and Complex Disabilities in Inclusive Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the learning, social, and psychological outcomes of students with moderate, severe, and complex disabilities (MSCD) in inclusive settings. The review discusses barriers to conducting rigorous research in this field. Whilst an initial literature search located 1,338 records, only 18 were finally included due to the eligibility criteria. Studies were placed in categories based on the topics investigated. Regarding learning outcomes of students with MSCD, findings were moderately in favour of school inclusion for both academic achievement and adaptive skills. Regarding social outcomes, results showed that inclusive settings offer more access to instructional time and peer interaction, although they reported marginalisation during class activities and social isolation within the peer group. Finally, in terms of psychological outcomes, inclusive settings appeared to reduce the frequency of challenging behaviours. The paper also addresses conceptual barriers regarding the definition of inclusion and its consequences on research and practice as well as research design barriers resulting from the quality of research in this field. Based on review results, this paper outlines epistemological propositions for developing standards of quality for both research and practice in the field.

Inclusive education in the diversifying environments of Finland, Iceland and the Netherlands: A multilingual systematic review

“…There is recent research showing support for broadly inclusive policies (O’Rourke, 2015), but typically these are not based on consistent conceptual frames. Meta-analyses of research on inclusive education do exist (Göransson and Nilholm, 2014), with some studies focusing specifically on inclusive education (Dell’Anna et al, 2020; Van Mieghem et al, 2020), and also with multilingual methodologies (Amor et al, 2018). Nonetheless, they are somewhat disparate and few are focused on how researchers have investigated the phenomenon of inclusive education.…”

Perceptions and behaviors of healthcare providers towards rehabilitation support to children with severe malaria-related disability in Ethiopia: A qualitative descriptive study using the Theoretical Domains Framework

“…Here, “functioning” is defined as the overall well-being of a child in terms of physical health (body structures and body functions), activities (e.g., activities of daily life), and social health (e.g., participation in various social events) [ 2 ]. The rehabilitation interventions can be provided at a health facility level or at the community level to improve the functioning and health of children with severe malaria-related disability, education, inclusion, and social participation [ 42 , 43 ]. Such a service also includes early identification and providing rehabilitation support for children with severe malaria-related disability by establishing screening mechanisms (prevention of further disability).…”

Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Parental Involvement in Inclusive Education

“…Since the establishment of the Salamanca Statement in 1994, most countries around the world have enacted laws and legislations to maintain IE systems and have seen a tremendous increase in research in this area, especially in Western countries [4,5]. Over the last decade, a large body of research has suggested that IE is the best practice for students with disabilities, as it increases their academic performance and achievement, creates opportunities to seek higher education, improves vocational skills, develops developmental skills, and reduces maladaptive behaviors [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”