Social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions seek to improve students’ decision-making skills, interaction with others and their self-management of emotions, rather than focusing directly on the academic or cognitive elements of learning.

SEL interventions might focus on the ways in which students work with (and alongside) their peers, teachers, family or community.

Three broad categories of SEL interventions can be identified:

• School-level approaches to developing a positive school ethos, which also aim to support greater engagement in learning;
• Universal programmes which generally take place in the classroom with the whole class; and
• More specialised programmes which use elements of SEL and are targeted at students with particular social or emotional needs.

1. Social and emotional learning approaches have a positive impact, on average, of 4 months' additional progress in academic outcomes over the course of an academic year. This finding, however, has very low security, so schools should be especially careful to monitor the efficacy of SEL approaches in their settings.

2. The studies in the Toolkit focus primarily on academic outcomes, but it is important to consider the other benefits of SEL interventions. Being able to effectively manage emotions will be beneficial to children and young people even if it does not translate to reading or maths scores.

3. While targeted approaches to SEL learning seem to have greater impacts on average, approaches should not be viewed in opposition, as most schools will want to use a combination of whole class SEL learning, and targeted support for students with particular social and emotional needs.

4. The evidence indicates that there is particular promise for approaches that focus on improving social interaction between students.

The average impact of successful SEL interventions is an additional four months’ progress over the course of a year. The security of this evidence is, however, very low, so schools should carefully monitor the efficacy of approaches in their own settings. Alongside academic outcomes, SEL interventions have an identifiable and valuable impact on attitudes to learning and social relationships in school.

Although SEL interventions are almost always perceived to improve emotional or attitudinal outcomes, not all interventions are equally effective at raising achievement. Improvements appear more likely when SEL approaches are embedded into routine educational practices and supported by professional development and training for staff. In addition, the implementation of the programme and the degree to which teachers are committed to the approach appear to be important.

An Aotearoa New Zealand study highlights the complementarity of te ao Māori perspectives and values in SEL, particularly teaching and learning interaction and approaches that are based in care/manaakitanga.

Targeted interventions typically involve working with individuals or small groups of students who might benefit from developing their social and emotional skills or who have been identified with particular needs.

The impact of targeted interventions is typically a little higher than the average SEL approach.

Despite the higher average impact of targeted approaches, effective implementation is likely to require a combination of targeted and universal approaches.

Universal interventions typically involve a social and emotional intervention or approach for a whole class.

The impact of universal interventions is typically a little lower than the overall average impact for social and emotional learning approaches.

It is worth emphasising, however, that universal approaches are typically cheaper to implement, and normally have a different aim to targeted support. Effective SEL provision is likely to require some whole class modelling of effective SEL approaches, and some additional targeted support for students with particular social or emotional needs.

Social and emotional learning is important in and of itself. The mechanism by which approaches have an impact on academic outcomes may include improving engagement in learning or self-regulation skills. If schools are aiming to improve a particular skill, they should carefully consider:

• How the SEL approach will be embedded and modelled across the school.

• How to identify and provide targeted support for students that need additional SEL support.

SEL approaches are typically delivered over a pre-specified period if used as a targeted intervention (e.g. length of one term), although they could also be implemented over the course of an academic year (e.g. if purposed with school wide change).

Overall, the median costs of implementing SEL approaches are estimated as very low. The costs associated with SEL interventions arise from professional training and development for staff, the majority of which are start-up costs.

Whilst the median cost estimate for SEL approaches is very low, the option to purchase additional books, resource and materials, and ongoing training and support means that costs can range from very low to moderate.

Local research:

Macfarlane, A. H., Macfarlane, S., Graham, J., & Clarke, T. H. (2017). Social and Emotional Learning and Indigenous Ideologies in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Biaxial Blend. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3394-0_15