Peer Tutoring Interventions for Students With or At-Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Systematic Review of Reviews.

Lisa et al. (2023) looked at 16 earlier reviews about peer tutoring. The reviews covered 2,404 K-12 students who have or are at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders.

The team asked one question: does peer tutoring help these students do better in class and stay out of trouble?

Peer tutoring came out positive for both schoolwork and behavior. The pattern held across all 16 reviews.

In plain words, kids taught kids and everyone gained.

The review folds in single-case work like Mueller et al. (2000) and Charlop et al. (1992). Those studies trained typical peers to boost social play in preschoolers with autism. Lisa et al. show the same peer-to-peer logic works for older students with emotional disorders.

Pollack et al. (2024) looked at function-based plans for the same EBD group. They found most plans skip trauma-informed steps. Peer tutoring is not a trauma treatment, but it adds a low-risk, high-reward option while we wait for richer BIPs.

Menezes et al. (2021) reviewed social-skills trials for students with autism in inclusive rooms. Lisa et al. widen the lens: peer tutoring lifts both social and academic targets for a broader mix of kids, not just autism.

You can start peer tutoring tomorrow. Pair a student who struggles with a willing classmate. Give clear roles, a daily five-minute check, and praise for both. No extra gear, no long training. The review says you will likely see better work and fewer problem behaviors at the same time.