Social-emotional learning for preschool students 

This study from the Early Childhood Education Journal looks at the effects of an SEL curriculum on the social and emotional competence of preschool students. Participating teachers and students were assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. In the treatment group, Strong Start Pre-K was implemented, a program that covers specific objectives and goals that help to prevent emotional and mental health problems; optional booster lessons are included to reinforce skills. In the control group, Strong Start Pre-K was not implemented. 

Results of the study indicated a significant decrease in internalizing behaviors and more improvement in the student-teacher relationship in the treatment group. In addition, results supported the use of the optional booster lessons. 

To learn more about effective approaches to social-emotional learning, see "Social and emotional learning programs that work," an archived article from Better: Evidence-based Education magazine.