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

2011/01/01 by Joseph A Durlak, Joseph A. Durlak, Roger P Weissberg +7 · 8,527 citations
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Academic achievement #Applied psychology #Best practice #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Developmental psychology #Early Childhood Education and Development #Emotional development #Empirical evidence #Mathematics education #Medical education #Medicine #Meta-analysis #Parental Involvement in Education #Psychological intervention #Psychology #Social change #Social emotional learning

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

published in Child Development 82(1), 405-432 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2011/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

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.

Citations

• Trim and Fill: A Simple Funnel‐Plot–Based Method of Testing and Adjusting for Publication Bias in Meta‐Analysis

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