Interventions for Students with Learning Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis of Treatment Outcomes

The first comprehensive quantitative analysis of intervention research in the learning disabilities field, this volume synthesizes the results of 272 scientifically credible group and single-subject studies in an effort to identify what works best for learning disabled children. The book examines pertinent findings on all academic, cognitive, and behavioral domains. Intervention outcomes are evaluated across instructional domains, sample characteristics, intervention parameters, methodological procedures, and article characteristics. Addressing such questions as the merits of inclusion settings and the relative benefits of direct and strategy instruction, Swanson offers timely recommendations for instructional design, assessment, and policy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction and Overview 1. Purpose and Perspective 2. Method 3. Group Design Studies 4. Single-Subject Design Studies 5. General Discussion 6. Implications Appendix A: Studies Selected for General Synthesis Appendix B: Sample of Studies Disqualified from Synthesis Appendix C: Coding Form Used for Each Study Appendix D: Effect Sizes for Studies Used in Regression Analysis by Dependent Measure Category Appendix E: Description of Studies

About the Author :
H. Lee Swanson, PhD, School of Education, University of California, Riverside

Review :
"This book performs a real service for the field. Synthesis is desperately needed in any field where the diagnosticity of any one study is low--which is certainly the case in the learning disabilities field. I am very glad that Swanson and his colleagues have taken the initiative of embarking on this ambitious project. Finally, we will have a benchmark for the evaluation of treatment outcomes." --Keith E. Stanovich, Professor of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto "This book will help shape the future not only of the LD field, but also of general education. What works for students with LD often works for other struggling students as well. The meta-analytic review and analysis that Swanson and his colleagues have undertaken will have a profound effect on research and practice. Perhaps most important, the book may allow us to lay aside arguments about which instructional model is the single best one, and to focus instead on integrating the range of instructional components supported by the research. This is a 'must-read' for current and future researchers, including graduate students in LD, as well as LD practitioners, educational policy makers, and teacher educators." --Karen R. Harris, EdD, Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and Professor, Department of Special Education, University of Maryland