The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions

Summary & key facts

This meta-analysis combined results from 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten-through-high-school students. Compared with control groups, students in SEL programs showed better social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behavior, and their school achievement was higher by about 11 percentile points. Regular school teaching staff ran the programs successfully, and results depended on using four recommended teaching practices and on whether there were implementation problems.

Key facts:

• The review pooled 213 school-based, universal SEL programs.
• The pooled sample included 270,034 students from kindergarten through high school.
• Students in SEL programs showed significant improvements in social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behavior compared with control groups.
• Academic performance for SEL participants was higher by about an 11-percentile-point gain compared with controls.
• Regular school teaching staff were able to deliver SEL programs successfully in the studies reviewed.
• Use of four recommended practices for developing skills influenced (moderated) program outcomes, with programs using those practices showing different results than those that did not.
• The presence of implementation problems also influenced program outcomes, meaning how well a program was run affected its results.
• The authors state these findings add to growing evidence that school-based, evidence-based SEL programs can have positive impacts and suggest support for including such programs in standard educational practice.

Abstract

This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students. Compared to controls, SEL participants demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance that reflected an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement. School teaching staff successfully conducted SEL programs. The use of 4 recommended practices for developing skills and the presence of implementation problems moderated program outcomes. The findings add to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of SEL programs. Policy makers, educators, and the public can contribute to healthy development of children by supporting the incorporation of evidence-based SEL programming into standard educational practice.

Topics

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Early Childhood Education and Development Parental Involvement in Education

Categories

Education Social Sciences

Tags

Academic achievement Applied psychology Best practice Developmental psychology Economic growth Economics Emotional development Empirical evidence Epistemology Internal medicine Management Mathematics education Medical education Medicine Meta-analysis Philosophy Psychiatry Psychological intervention Psychology Social change Social emotional learning