ReviewEffective universal school-based social and emotional learning programs for improving academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of research☆
Section snippets
Conceptual definitions
There are strong academic, social and emotional facets of teaching, learning to teach, and student learning in schools (Corcoran, 2018; Corcoran and Tormey, 2012a, Corcoran and Tormey, 2012b; Corcoran and O’Flaherty, 2017a, Corcoran and O’Flaherty, 2017b; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004). There is general agreement among educators, policymakers, and the general public that schools have a crucial role in fostering students' cognitive development, but should engage students’ social and
Conceptual model
The conceptual model that guides this research assumes that each of the core competencies contribute to increased skills and knowledge, supportive learning environments, and improved attitudes about school, self, and others, which in turn leads to reduced problem behaviors, reduced emotional stress, improved social behavior, improved self-esteem and that each of these factors then help contribute to improved academic performance in the classroom (CASEL, 2015). However, alternative models
SEL educational policy
Serving and responding to culturally diverse students is a major challenge for schools (Learning First Alliance, 2001). There is some understanding that some of the student population may lack social and emotional competencies and as a result will often become less engaged in school. This lack of engagement may have a negative impact on their behavior, health, and academic performance (Blum & Libbey, 2004). However, schools are expected to address all of these areas but with limited resources
Previous reviews
There are quite a few reviews of SEL or programs with similar objectives but in order to take into consideration the contribution of their work for the research agenda, certain criteria should be assessed: whether reviews tend to be outdated, lack sufficient focus on the area in question, age group of the students in the sample, or have included studies which used non-robust methodologies.
A search of the literature found the following relevant reviews. The first review studied universal
Search procedures
The current study utilized techniques outlined by Glass, McGaw, and Smith (1981) and Lipsey and Wilson (2001). In order to locate all studies that had the potential to be included in this study, a search of the extant literature for articles that were written between 1970 and 2016 was conducted. Online searches were carried out using a variety of educational research databases and utilizing multiple combinations of key words, web-based repositories, and relevant journals tables of contents.
Overall effects
As indicated in Table 2, there were 40 qualified studies that were selected based on pre-K-12 participants included in the final analysis: 35 studies included dependent measures of reading performance (N = 57,755), 33 studies included dependent measures of mathematics performance (N = 61,360), and 5 studies included dependent measures of science performance (N = 16,380). Because the sciene outcome data came from only five sources, some caution should be exercised when interpreting its results.
Discussion
The primary aim of this review was to explore the overall effectiveness of school-based SEL interventions on reading, mathematics, and science outcomes in pre-K-12 classrooms. This study employed the use of crucial substantive and methodological moderator variables, including research design, SES, sample size, and program intensity. These moderators were utilized to establish whether the outcomes were significantly different with regard to important study factors.
The findings of this study
Conclusion
The current findings highlight the need for more large-scale, randomized studies, with a focus on effective SEL programs to improve student academic achievement. In addition, districts should implement and continue to evaluate evidence-based SEL programs to offer researchers the ability to make better comparisons of effective SEL programming. Some of the SEL approaches most widely used in schools, tested via large randomized experiments do not present strong evidence of effectiveness. However,
Funding
This study was funded by the Jacobs Foundation (Jacobs Foundation Grant 120813, R. P. Corcoran, Principal Investigator).
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This study was funded by the Jacobs Foundation (Johns Hopkins University, 2015). However, opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the policies or positions of the Jacobs Foundation.
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References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.