Universal design for learning for educating students with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review

Abstract

This review analyzes studies carried out between 2008 and 2018 which examined the educational impact of interventions based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). The review aims to determine the research designs and methods of these studies, and their interventions and effectiveness. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria used in this review. The review demonstrated the diversity of research designs and methods used, which included quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. The interventions included the use of digital environments, e-books, shared stories, audio systems, software and educational activities; all based on the principles of UDL. The reviewed studies confirmed the effectiveness of these interventions in educating such students, whether in academic, social or behavioral aspects. The study recommends further research to give greater clarification of the impact of UDL on the academic, social and behavioral aspects of the education of students with ID. It also recommends increasing the number of research participants and using a qualitative approach to better understand the lived experience of applying these interventions.

Keywords:

• Universal Design for Learning
• UDL
• students with intellectual disabilities (ID)
• interventions
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.