Academic Benefits of Peer Tutoring: A Meta-Analytic Review of Single-Case Research

• Published in: School psychology review Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 39 - 55
• Main Authors: Bowman-Perrott, Lisa, Davis, Heather, Vannest, Kimberly, Williams, Lauren, Greenwood, Charles, Parker, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda Taylor & Francis 01.03.2013; National Association of School Psychologists; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accountability; Behavior; Behavior Change; Behavior Disorders; Case Studies; Confidence intervals; Disabilities; Early intervention; Education; Educational Benefits; Educational Research; Educational Strategies; Effect Size; Grade 1; Group work in education; Individualized Instruction; Intervention; Meta Analysis; Methods; Outcomes of Education; Peer Teaching; Peer tutoring; Peer-group tutoring of students; Research Methodology; School psychologists; Statistical Analysis; Students; Systematic review; Teaching Methods; Team learning approach in education; Trends; Tutoring; Tutors and tutoring; United States
• ISSN: 2372-966X; 0279-6015; 2372-966X
• DOI: 10.1080/02796015.2013.12087490

Peer tutoring is an instructional strategy that involves students helping each other learn content through repetition of key concepts. This meta-analysis examined effects of peer tutoring across 26 single-case research experiments for 938 students in Grades 1-12. The TauU effect size for 195 phase contrasts was 0.75 with a confidence interval of CI 95 = 0.71 to 0.78, indicating that moderate to large academic benefits can be attributed to peer tutoring. Five potential moderators of these effects were examined: dosage, grade level, reward, disability status, and content area. This is the first peer tutoring meta-analysis in nearly 30 years to examine outcomes for elementary and secondary students, and extends previous peer tutoring meta-analyses by examining disability as a potential moderator. Findings suggest that peer tutoring is an effective intervention regardless of dosage, grade level, or disability status. Among students with disabilities, those with emotional and behavioral disorders benefitted most. Implications are discussed.