Peer-reviewed article
The effects of non-pharmacological school-based interventions on educational outcomes in children and young people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis
Zhang D, Hartas D, Palikara O, Sideropoulos V ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This meta-analysis reviews 16 randomised controlled trials examining whether non-pharmacological school-based interventions improve educational outcomes for children and young people with ADHD aged 5-17 years. The analysis found that school-based interventions showed only a small effect on educational outcomes overall, with no clear patterns about which intervention types or outcome measures work best. The evidence remains inconclusive about what approaches are most effective for supporting children with ADHD in school settings.
Key points
- Of 2164 items identified, only 16 studies met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis
- Overall school-based interventions showed a small effect on educational outcomes for children with ADHD
- No significant moderators were detected across intervention types and outcome domains
- Evidence base shows mixed and inconclusive patterns on effectiveness for academic progress, attendance, and wellbeing
- Future research should examine contextual, educational, and environmental factors
Limitations
The meta-analysis does not specify which individual interventions were tested, the particular educational outcomes measured, or the specific contexts and school settings where trials occurred. This limits understanding of what specific approaches might be more or less promising for different populations or settings.
Abstract
Children and young people (CYP) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often face inequalities when accessing learning opportunities. The evidence base is mixed on the effectiveness of school-based interventions for CYP with ADHD on academic progress gains, improved attendance, and enhanced wellbeing. We conducted a meta-analysis to specify whether school-based interventions improve the educational outcomes of CYP with ADHD. Seven databases were searched until 2nd of October 2026. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines. Of the 2164 items identified, only 16 studies were included in our analysis as they met our inclusion criteria: a) CYP with ADHD aged 5-17 years old; b) school-based interventions; c) randomized controlled trials; and d) educational outcomes. Given the substantial heterogeneity across intervention types, the findings show an inconclusive pattern of what works and what doesn’t. Our main model demonstrated that overall school-based interventions showed a small effect on educational outcomes amongst CYP with ADHD. No significant moderators, such as intervention types and outcome domains, were detected. Future research should examine the broader contextual, educational, and environmental factors associated with better educational outcomes amongst CYP with ADHD, with the aim of developing more evidence-informed and targeted interventions.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Non-pharmacological school-based interventions for children and young people with ADHD
- Population
- Children and young people with ADHD aged 5-17 years
Key finding
Overall school-based interventions showed a small effect on educational outcomes