School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes represent a practical method of improving social and emotional well-being in students. To date, however, what is less well understood is why a theoretically sound, appropriately administered, engaging universal SEL programme may be more effective for some children over others. In the present study, an established SEL programme, KooLKIDS Whole of Class, was delivered to 524, 8 to 12-year-old Australian primary school students. Classroom teachers completed pre- and post-measures regarding children’s social-emotional competence and emotional and behavioural difficulties. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to examine which characteristics predicted differential improvement from the programme. Findings revealed that the pre-programme total score on emotional and behavioural difficulties was the strongest predictor of improvements in SEL, independent of age, sex or socioeconomic status. This implies that while universal SEL programmes represent an effective and relatively low-cost method of improving social competence for all children, they may be particularly effective for improving social and emotional competence in those with greater emotional and behavioural difficulties.

中文翻译：

---

谁受益最大？根据儿童的情绪和行为困难预测社交和情绪学习干预的有效性

以学校为基础的社交和情感学习 (SEL) 计划代表了一种改善学生社交和情感健康的实用方法。然而，迄今为止，人们不太清楚的是，为什么理论上合理、管理适当、参与性强的通用 SEL 计划可能对某些儿童比其他儿童更有效。在本研究中，一项已建立的 SEL 计划 KooLKIDS Whole of Class 面向 524 名 8 至 12 岁的澳大利亚小学生提供。课堂教师完成了关于儿童社交情绪能力和情绪和行为困难的事前和事后措施。使用分层线性建模来检查哪些特征预测了程序的差异改进。调查结果显示，在情绪和行为困难方面的计划前总分是 SEL 改善的最强预测指标，与年龄、性别或社会经济地位无关。这意味着，虽然通用 SEL 计划代表了一种提高所有儿童社交能力的有效且成本相对较低的方法，但它们对于提高情绪和行为困难更大的儿童的社交和情绪能力可能特别有效。