A Meta-Analysis of Peer Rating Sociometric Studies of Pupils with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This meta-analysis examined the peer rating sociometric research on students with learning disabilities. Seventeen studies yielded 37 effect sizes calculated in three ways: Glass's (1977) effect size' (g) standardized by using the standard deviation of the control group, Hunter and Schmidt's (1990) effect size (d) standardized by using the pooled within-groups standard deviation, and Hedges and Olkin's (1985) unbiased effect size (d). The mean g was -.69; the mean d was -.66, and the mean d was-64, all of which indicate that pupils with learning disabilities have lower sociometric status when compared with their nonhandicapped counterparts. The moderator variables of ratee gender, grade level, research design, and sociometric scale type did not have an influence on effect size. The variable of rater gender, however, did moderate effect size. Future within-group sociometric research identifying behavioral profiles of students with learning disabilities classified into different status groups is recommended.