Science Instruction for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

This review examined classroom science instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A total of 11 group and single-subject studies were analyzed. Across all group studies, a conservatively calculated mean effect size of .471 was obtained indicating the interventions as a whole had at least a small to moderate impact on students’ with EBD achievement. Findings were further analyzed by student characteristics, intervention type, dependent measures utilized, and study variables. A significant result of these subanalyses indicates that while additional research is needed, students with EBD may benefit from inquiry approaches provided the method implemented includes enough structure to ensure student engagement. Results also suggest that mnemonic instruction is highly effective at increasing students’ with EBD knowledge and retention of science facts.