This article, published in the January 2011 issue of the academic journal, Child Development, presents a review of 213 studies of school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs for kindergarten to high school. It is one of the most cited documents in the field of SEL for evidence on the positive impact of SEL programs.

Results of a meta-analytic review of available studies provides extensive evidence that students who participated in SEL programs, when compared to students who did not participate in any SEL programs, show improved social and emotional skills, behavior and attitudes. In addition, an 11 percentile-point gain in academic achievement was also documented as a result of participating in SEL programs.

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. & Schellinger, K. B. (2011), The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82: 405–432.