Teacher characteristics and ADHD intervention outcomes in schools

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Research suggests that there are gaps in teacher knowledge about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teachers report that their pre-service training did not prepare them to manage ADHD-related behaviour and that students with ADHD can be more stressful to teach. Although there has been an increase in studies aimed at increasing teachers’ knowledge of ADHD and improving interventions, there remains a need to address whether teacher factors (e.g. knowledge about ADHD and experience working with students with ADHD) may influence the effectiveness of an intervention for these students. Purpose The aim of this small-scale, in-depth literature review was to identify and explore studies that have investigated teacher characteristics alongside intervention effectiveness for students with ADHD. Method A literature search was conducted to identify studies on the topic of ADHD interventions that (a) demonstrated the use of a school-based intervention aimed at supporting students with an ADHD diagnosis, (b) measured a teacher factor, and (c) documented student outcomes. The search was limited to peer review articles published between 2006 and 2020 and written in English. Findings Within the broad body of work in school-based ADHD intervention research, the search identified a small subset of articles that addressed this specific area. An in-depth narrative synthesis of these articles explored the studies’ characteristics and outcomes. Conclusions The synthesis draws attention to the under-researched question of whether teacher factors are influencing or moderating an intervention’s effectiveness. It highlights the need for further research into teacher-level factors as possible explanatory variables for an intervention’s effectiveness. This may provide crucial information for improving ADHD interventions, thereby enabling teachers to better support learners with ADHD.