Assessing the role of peer tutoring in special education: A systematic review

Take an example that most educators would recognize: a child with special educational needs sitting silently at the back of a classroom while instruction flows past them. Now replace that image with two children working together-one typically developing, one with a disability-engaged in a shared learning task where both are growing. That's peer tutoring at its best, and this systematic review examined whether the evidence supports the practice as systematically as the anecdotes suggest. This research synthesized findings from 47 empirical articles published between 2005 and 2025 that evaluated peer tutoring interventions for students with special educational needs in primary and secondary school settings. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and extracted data on seven outcome domains: academic achievement, social skills, communication, self-confidence, and behavioral regulation, engagement, and peer relationships. A meta-analytic component calculated pooled effect sizes across 31 quantitative articles meeting inclusion criteria. The pooled results showed that peer tutoring produced positive effects across all seven domains, with the largest effects in peer relationships (d = 1.61), self-confidence (d = 1.38), and engagement (d = 1.29). Academic achievement showed a large effect (d = 0.87), while communication had the smallest but still meaningful effect (d = 0.71). Critically, benefits weren't limited to tutees-peer tutors themselves showed gains in social skills, academic understanding, and empathy. Cross-age tutoring arrangements produced larger effect sizes than same-age formats, and structured programs with explicit training outperformed informal buddy systems. These findings confirm peer tutoring as one of the most consistently effective strategies in special education, with benefits that extend to both sides of the tutoring partnership.