Academic Intervention Effectiveness in Inclusive Education Settings for Students with Extensive Support Needs: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This review synthesized single-case design studies examining academic interventions for students with extensive support needs in inclusive K-12 general education settings. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of academic interventions and describe key characteristics, including participant features, school level, content areas, and intervention types. Eighteen studies meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed, and Tau-U nonoverlap indices were calculated to quantify intervention effects. Results indicated explicit, systematically delivered instructional strategies and self-management and self-monitoring supports consistently produced large positive academic effects across grade levels and content areas, whereas peer support arrangements and story-based interventions demonstrated highly variable outcomes. Findings further suggest that intervention effectiveness in inclusive settings is strongly influenced by implementation conditions, including clearly defined instructional roles, explicit training, and sustained implementation fidelity supported by teacher facilitation. Implications for future research and practice include the need for continued replication of effective instructional strategies in general education classrooms and increased attention to implementation supports that promote high-quality academic instruction for students with extensive support needs.