Abstract:

A comprehensive review was conducted of intervention studies designed to teach academic skills to students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Nine articles were analyzed regarding content and methodological rigor. Each article was analyzed in terms of purpose, participants, design, dependent variables(s), independent variables(s), and results. Second, each study was reviewed in terms of the quality indicators for single subject (n = 2) and group experimental designs (n = 7). The findings (a) provide evidence that incarcerated youth can learn academic skills in a difficult environment, (b) demonstrate that academic instruction needs to be intense, direct, and empirically validated, and (c) point to the need for increasing methodological rigor in future research. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Keywords:

Special Populations, Pedagogy, Teacher Preparation