Stage 2 Report: The State of the Evidence for Social and Emotional Learning: A Contemporary Meta-Analysis of Universal School-Based SEL Interventions

Abstract

This article provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of the current evidence for universal school-based (USB) social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions for students in kindergarten through 12th grade available from 2008 through 2020. The sample includes 424 studies from 53 countries, reflecting 252 discrete USB SEL interventions, involving 575,361 students. Results endorsed that, compared to control conditions, students who participate in USB SEL interventions experienced significantly improved skills, attitudes, behaviors, school climate and safety, peer relationships, school functioning, and academic achievement. Significant heterogeneity in USB SEL content, intervention features, context, and implementation quality moderated student experiences and outcomes. Strengths and limitations of this evidence and implications for future USB SEL research, policy, and practice are discussed.

The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta‐analysis of universal school‐based SEL interventions

“…At the time this manuscript was prepared, an estimated 68 million youth ages 10–19 were suffering from depression and anxiety (UNICEF, 2021), with rates of youth suicide being more prevalent worldwide than ever reported before (CDC, 2019; UNICEF, 2021). In the wake of a global tragedy, where an estimated 10.5 million children lost a parent or caregiver to the COVID‐19 pandemic (Hillis et al, 2022), when students worldwide experienced unprecedented interruptions to education as usual, and rates of gun violence spiked, the world's attention turned to social and emotional learning (Cipriano et al, In Progress).…”

“…USB SEL interventions support the development of intra‐ and inter‐ personal skills to promote physical and psychological health for all students in a given school or grade. SEL includes fostering emotional intelligence, behavior regulation, identity formation, and the skills necessary for establishing and maintaining supportive relationships and making empathic and equitable decisions in the best interest of the entire school community (Cipriano et al, 2023; CASEL, 2020; Greenberg et al, 2017). Durlak et al's meta‐analysis of 213 USB SEL programs (involving 270,034 students in grades K‐12) reported statistically significant improvements in students' social and emotional (SE) skills (standardized mean effect size [ES], Hedges' g = 0.57), attitudes toward self and others ( g = 0.23), social behaviors ( g = 0.24) and academic achievement ( g = 0.27).…”

“…Yet, significant disparities are apparent in the little evidence we have available for students who have been historically marginalized in education (Cipriano et al, In Progress, 2023; Daley & McCarthy, 2021; Rowe & Trickett, 2018; Taylor et al, 2017). Academics in the field have scrutinized how programs suggest to and educators teach emotion and behavior regulation and how they set expectations of emotion expression, behavior, and compliance to identify how they may be contributing to culturally insensitive and oppressive practices, including the disproportionate use of punitive or exclusionary discipline with students of color and others historically marginalized (Cipriano et al, 2023; Duchesneau, 2020; Elias et al, 2019).…”

What we know, and what we need to find out about universal, school-based social and emotional learning programs for children and adolescents: A review of meta-analyses and directions for future research.

“…Taken together, the growing interest in and influence of SEL intervention programs aimed at promoting student's SECs requires a careful examination of the research evidence both in terms of what outcomes are associated with interventions and what factors may moderate student outcomes. An extensive meta-analysis of more recent SEL programs is underway to investigate some of the issues mentioned above (Cipriano, Naples, Zieher, et al, 2022). We focus on the meta-analyses reported so far.…”

Evidence for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools

“…Second, research demonstrates that comprehensive SEL programs-those that broadly focus on all five social-behavioral, emotional, and cognitive self-regulatory competencies that influence knowledge, skills, and attitudes (components of the CASEL 5 model)-produce broader behavioral and academic improvements than those that are more narrowly targeted. 52 This is likely because these components are interdependent outcomes (e.g., accurately identifying emotions, regulating one's emotions and behaviors to see others' perspectives, being able to resolve conflict when there are different perspectives, etc.) and are all necessary to achieve student outcomes.…”