Abstract

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs are school-based preventive interventions that aim to improve children’s social-emotional skills and behaviors. Although meta-analytic research has shown that SEL programs implemented in early childhood can improve academic and behavioral outcomes in the short-term, there is limited work examining program effects on children’s math and language skills in the longer-term. Moreover, few studies have considered variation in impacts by children’s pre-intervention academic skills. Using an experimental design, the current study leveraged administrative data available through school records (N = 353) to examine the impacts of one SEL program—INSIGHTS into Children’s Temperament—implemented in early elementary school on math and language standardized test scores from third through sixth grade. Findings revealed positive average treatment effects on English/Language Arts (ELA) test scores in third and fourth grade, but not in fifth and sixth grade. Students who had higher academic skills at study enrollment showed lasting impacts on ELA scores in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. There were no treatment impacts on math skills, and no variation in effects on math achievement by baseline skills. Implications are discussed.

摘要

社会情感学习（SEL）计划是基于学校的预防性干预措施，旨在提高儿童的社会情感技能和行为。尽管荟萃分析研究表明，在幼儿期实施的SEL计划可以在短期内改善学业和行为结果，但从长远来看，检查计划对儿童数学和语言技能影响的工作有限。此外，很少有研究考虑儿童的干预前学习技能对影响的影响。本研究使用实验设计，利用学校记录（N  = 353）中可获得的行政数据来检验一项SEL计划的影响-洞察儿童气质-在小学三年级实施的数学和语言标准化考试成绩中。调查结果显示，平均英语/语言艺术（ELA）测试成绩平均治疗效果在三年级和四年级，但五年级和六年级则没有。在入学时具有较高学术技能的学生对四年级，五年级和六年级的ELA分数表现出持久的影响。治疗对数学技能没有影响，基线技能对数学成绩的影响也没有变化。讨论了含义。