DOI: 10.37233/trsped.drr.2004007 ISSN: 2687-6213

Cognitive Load Theory in Special Education: A Concept Analysis of Its Meaning, Attributes, and Educational Applications

Mehtab Hussain
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Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) is one of the most widely cited frameworks in educational psychology, yet its meaning shifts noticeably when it is applied in the special education literature. Researchers studying students with disabilitiesoften use terms such as cognitive load management, load reduction, instructional efficiency, and scaffolding as though they were interchangeable with CLT itself, even though each term carries a different theoretical history. This paper offers a concept analysis of CLT as it is used in special education, following Walker and Avant's (2019) method. Drawing on an analytic corpus of 70 empirical, theoretical, and review sources spanning the core CLT constructs and twelve disability categories, the analysis identifies the defining attributes of the concept, the conditions that must be present before it can be applied, the outcomes that follow its use, and the ways in which researchers measure it. The paper also traces how the concept has been adapted across disability categories, including learning disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, hearing impairment, visual impairment, physical and health conditions, multiple disabilities, giftedness, and intellectual disability. The analysis concludes with a proposed operational definition intended to give researchers and practitioners a clearer, more consistent way to discuss cognitive load when working with learners who have disabilities.

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