What happens when school districts integrate social and emotional learning?

What happens when school districts integrate social and emotional learning?
American Institutes for Research (AIR) has published findings from an ongoing evaluation of a districtwide implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL).
The Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) was launched in 2011 by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) to support school districts' capacities to provide SEL for all students. AIR's evaluation of the first four years of the CDI analyzed, among other factors, its effect on student academic and behavioral outcomes at the school level in the eight participating districts. Academic outcomes included reading and mathematics standardized test scores and grade point average (GPA). Behavioral outcomes included attendance, suspensions, graduation, and dropout.

Overall, students' academic performance improved in CDI implementation years relative to the years before the CDI. GPA was seen to improve in four of the districts and discipline in six. Attendance improved in four districts and declined in one.
Although the research demonstrated some positive trends in the academic and behavioral outcomes of students in the school districts where CDI was implemented, these improvements were not seen consistently for all students. The evaluation suggests that even modest investments in SEL can have benefits, but more research is needed to determine which SEL approaches work best at different grade levels and have the strongest long-term benefits.

Johns Hopkins University 

Research in Brief

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