In the midst of an unprecedented mental health crisis afflicting our nation’s youth, a study led by Dr. Christina Cipriano, assistant professor at the Yale Child Study Center, and Michael Strambler, associate professor of psychiatry, uncovers evidence of social and emotional learning. Proven (SEL) ) We support students to enrich their school and daily lives.
In a new registration report now available in Child Development, a multidisciplinary team of 10 researchers reviewed 424 SEL experimental studies representing more than 250 individual SEL programs from the past 10 years in more than 50 countries. We analyzed it systematically. The most comprehensive and comprehensive review to date, the analysis of more than 500,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students worldwide strengthens existing knowledge about SEL and explores the impact of SEL. We deepened our understanding and clarified the path forward for the SEL field. .
Strengthen what we know about SEL
Building on decades of research demonstrating the positive outcomes of SEL, this study confirmed that students who participated in SEL programs performed better in school, academically, and socially. Students demonstrated improved academic performance and improved school functioning, including improved attendance and engagement in learning. Students also demonstrated improvements in social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behaviors, including student self-efficacy, self-esteem, mindset, perseverance, and optimism, among others. Additionally, the report confirmed that students who participated in SEL programs also felt better at school and had reduced anxiety, stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Students also felt more connected, inclusive, and had better relationships with their peers and teachers.
Cipriano and her team also found that the positive effects of SEL programs on students’ social and emotional skills persisted for more than six months after the program ended, and that specific features of SEL programs , high-quality, structured, active, focused, and teacher-delivered explicit (also known as SAFE) programs have the strongest positive effects on students.
New discoveries about SEL
This meta-analysis is the first of its kind to systematically examine several previously under-investigated areas of SEL, thereby providing guidance for future research specific to school safety and citizenship behavior; New discoveries have been made that have implications for practice and policy. When it comes to school environment safety and experience, a national conversation about how to support students to feel safe and learn in school has become a top priority. Importantly, beyond all of the outcomes examined, this comprehensive review reported that the greatest effect of SEL programs was increased students’ perceptions of safety and inclusion in school.
Regarding civics, this study is believed to be the first to systematically reveal statistically significant differences between prosocial behaviors. Citizen behavior and attitudes, such as civic processes and institutions, social justice, understanding of current events, and moral or ethical reasoning. SEL programs demonstrated positive effects in both of these areas. Considering the dynamic interplay between healthy climate, behavior, and students’ academic, personal, and social development, SEL is designed to support healthier and safer school experiences for K-12 students. We obtained results that promote the introduction of These findings only scratch the surface of the new evidence of his SEL currently available in registered reports.
Future direction of SEL
Understanding the role of SEL in promoting educational equity is essential to providing students with the best education possible. This new research suggests that the field can do more to embrace SEL programming and the differences in student experiences it brings to support all students in accessing and benefiting from SEL. We use data to tackle this complex problem.
Researchers should focus on expanding the types of data collected and reported in SEL effectiveness research to support meaningful and accurate measurement, evaluation, and interpretation for the broader SEL community. I’m looking for it.
“Through this initiative, we will continue to strengthen the rigor of SEL programs and their outcomes as they evolve within our nation’s school communities to achieve our vision of SEL that supports everyone while providing the best possible education for all students.” We recognize that it depends on the evaluation,” Cipriano said. As the nation faces a growing child mental health crisis, this study confirms how social and emotional learning can positively impact the overall well-being of children and youth .