Internal medicine

Neuroscience

Academic achievement

Psychotherapist

Meta-analysis

Mathematics education

Developmental psychology

Cognition

Psychosocial

Learning disability

Psychology

Medicine

Review of Educational Research

This article presents a meta-analysis on cognitive (e.g., academic performance) and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., self-concept, well-being) among students with general learning difficulties and their peers without learning difficulties in inclusive versus segregated educational settings. In total, we meta-analyzed k = 40 studies with 428 effect sizes and a total sample of N = 11,987 students. We found a significant small to medium positive effect for cognitive outcomes of students with general learning difficulties in inclusive versus segregated settings ( d = 0.35) and no effect on psychosocial outcomes ( d = 0.00). Students without general learning difficulties did not differ cognitively ( d = −0.14) or psychosocially ( d = 0.06) from their counterparts in segregated settings. We examined several moderators (e.g., design, diagnosis, type of outcome). We discuss possible selection effects as well as implications for future research and practice.

Inclusive Education of Students With General Learning Difficulties: A Meta-Analysis