A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Teacher-Implemented Interventions for Disruptive Behaviour in the Inclusive Classroom

Disruptive classroom behaviour (DCB) is highly prevalent and is associated with poor outcomes. Although effective, in-class interventions exist for disruptive behaviour, several barriers prevent teachers from using them. The current systematic review and meta-analysis take a unique approach to the literature by focusing on teacher-implemented in-class interventions. The aims of the systematic review and meta-analysis are to (a) to identify studies that evaluated teacher-implemented in-class interventions for DCB in the extant literature, (b) extract characteristics of the interventions related to implementation (e.g., time commitment, training required), and (c) estimate an overall effect size of the interventions on DCB. A systematic review, conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, identified 45 articles included in the final review, of which 27 were included in the meta-analysis. Intervention characteristics were summarized for the 28 identified interventions. The combined effect size of the studies was positive and large when estimated using a random-effects model. The results suggest that while there is evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions, the poor methodological quality of the included studies may inflate the effectiveness. These results also suggest future directions for research regarding teacher-implemented in-class interventions for DCB.