Interventions in Turkey for Teaching Addition and Subtraction to Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) struggle to learn addition and subtraction skills. Various interventions have been implemented to improve these skills. The present review provides evidence to evaluate interventions and improve inclusive education. The meta-synthesis method was used to review the results of the studies and provide a broader perspective by synthesizing their findings. Meta-synthesis examines the differences and similarities between studies and provides insight into the findings. Twelve articles and theses published between 1999 and 2021 were identified. The coding process focused on the dimensions of academic success and social validity. The findings indicate that some difficulties exist in both dimensions. Interventions for students with mild and moderate levels had positive results. In addition, the results were more effective at the primary school level than at the middle school level. These findings emphasize the importance of adapting interventions to the needs of students at different levels and serve as a guide for future research. Although the interventions significantly contributed to increasing academic achievement, they were found to have some deficiencies in terms of social validity. It reveals the need for further studies on how these skills can be used in real-life contexts. It is recommended that individualized, sustainable, and applicable programs be developed, teacher training be strengthened, and more comprehensive research be conducted.