Promoting social and emotional learning in the classroom

Abstract

This guidebook builds on much previous work in this area. In particular, it builds on the systematic review of emerging evidence on SEL interventions and programs commissioned by USAID in 2020.10 This review included SEL interventions and programs designed to target a variety of outcomes, including academic success, well-being, health, social and emotional competencies, and resiliency.11 In the development of this guidebook, we drew on the systematic review to identify specific interventions—those focusing on academic and SEL outcomes and those with strong evidence of effectiveness—within programs that had undergone experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation. In most cases, there is no evidence isolating the effect of a specific intervention by itself, but there is evidence of the larger program encompassing the intervention (e.g., Brain Games). Throughout the guidebook, we are explicit about the quality of evidence supporting each intervention. We also found several effective programs that did not have detailed documentation publicly available. For these, we interviewed the researchers who developed the programs to gather additional information. In total, we reviewed 150 programs that had an SEL intervention—from the systematic review of emerging evidence on SEL—eight of which met the criteria for this guidebook and are discussed herein.