Running head: SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 1

Social-Emotional Learning's Impact on Student Achievement: A Literature Review

Cristina Montagna

Long Island University POST

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 2

Abstract

A current trend in education is the adoption of social-emotional learning (SEL) into school-wide

curriculum to help support academic achievement. Current research evidence supports the

effectiveness of SEL on academic achievement. This literature review analyzes recent studies

which have investigated various SEL curricula, in effort to identify salient factors of SEL that

increase student academic achievement. The most salient factors influencing achievement,

across compared studies include (a) SEL competences (skills), (b) SEL program implementation

fidelity, and (c) SEL's impact on school climate. Within the review, strengths and limitations of

the studies are also discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

Keywords: social-emotional learning, school climate, implementation fidelity, studies

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 3

Social-Emotional Learning's Impact on Student Achievement: A Literature Review

Identifying Factors of Social and Emotional Learning That Increase Student Achievement

Teaching and learning in schools have strong social, emotional, and academic

components. Extensive developmental research indicates that effective mastery of social-

emotional competencies is associated with greater well-being and better school success whereas

the failure to achieve competence in these areas can lead to a variety of personal, social, and

academic difficulties (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). Recently

there has been rapid expansion in the implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL)

curriculum in schools to support social-emotional, along with academic, domains of children's

development (Durlak et al., 2011). This effort has been driven by the increasing recognition that,

to maximize their effectiveness, school-based, universal interventions that take an integrative,

holistic approach to provide more coordinated, sustained, and systematic services may have

better chances of greater impact than those programs that are academically-focused alone

(Durlak et al., 2011). It is important to note that traditionally, SEL curriculum designers

typically combine social and emotional skills rather than separate the teaching of these skills

because they are interested in promoting the integration of emotion, cognition, communication,

and behavior (Durlak et al., 2011).

Education Policy

Recently, SEL is of particular interest to education policy makers, as the Every Student

Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 calls for school accountability systems to include non-academic

indicators of success (McCormick, Cappella, O'Connor, & McClowry, 2015).  State education

departments across the United Sates are in the process of developing SEL education standards to

adopt as part of school curriculum. Despite this, inconsistencies with how SEL is defined, how it
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 4

is implemented within curriculum, and how it impacts school climate, in addition to how these

factors influence student achievement, make standardized SEL incorporation difficult

(McCormick et al., 2015). 

Salient Factors of SEL Curriculum

In light of the current state of SEL research as it relates to academic success, the purpose

of the present literature review is to analyze recent studies in order to identify the most salient

factors of SEL curriculum influencing student academic achievement, in effort to add to the

current body of knowledge. Comparison of the reviewed literature reveals three salient factors

of SEL curriculum linked to increasing student academic achievement, (as measured via

comparisons of student grade point averages and scores on statewide achievement tests).

The first identified factor relates to curriculum focusing on social-emotional skills (see

section Defining SEL Core Competencies), which have shown to impact academic performance

(Denham, Bassett, Zinsser, & Wyatt, 2014; Durlak et al., 2011; Rhoades, Warren, Domitrovitch,

& Greenberg, 2011; Schonfeld et al., 2015; Zhai, Raver, & Jones, 2015). The second identified

factor focuses on curriculum implementation fidelity and quality which are critical in

contributing to SEL effectiveness (Anyon, Nicotera, & Veeh, 2016; Kendziora & Osher, 2016).

Well-implemented SEL programs are usually associated with positive outcomes, while poorly

implemented programs have been found to have small or no effects no matter how well they may

have been initially designed (Zhai et al., 2015). The third identified factor relates to SEL

curriculum's goal of contributing to environmental factors that promote a positive school (and

classroom) climate (i.e., en environment that reflects the norms, goals, values, interpersonal

relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures of the school) (Davis,

Solberg, DeBaca, & Gore, 2014; McCormick et al., 2015; Slaten, Irby, Tate, & Rivera, 2015).
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 5

Positive school climate is associated with higher grade point averages, standardized test scores,

reading levels, and academic writing (McCormick et al., 2015).

Defining SEL Core Competencies

One inherent challenge in social and emotional learning (SEL) research is that SEL has

been widely defined or characterized, varying from conflict resolution, anti-bullying, and civic

engagement, to a host of other important but quite different topics (Durlak et al., 2011). For the

purpose of this literature review, SEL will be defined as the process of acquiring and effectively

applying knowledge, attitudes, and skills in five major areas of social-emotional competence,

including self-awareness (e.g., identifying emotions and recognizing strengths), social awareness

(e.g., perspective taking and respecting others), self-management (e.g., managing emotions and

goal setting), relationship skills (e.g., communication and cooperation), and responsible decision-

making (e.g., evaluation and reflection) (Durlak et al., 2011). The various literature analyzed in

this review subscribe to the aforementioned understating of social and emotional learning.

Literature Inclusion Criteria

The literature discussed in this review was selected based on several criteria, including

(a) presentation of either quantitative or qualitative studies, (b) conducted in the United States,

(c) within the last 5 years, (d) investigating factors of SEL curriculum that increase student

academic achievement. For each study, these criteria, along with data on sample sizes and

measurement tools, are presented in a comparative table (see Appendix for Table 1), for ease of

reference. Within the review, strengths and limitations of the studies are also discussed, as well

as suggestions for future research.

SEL curriculum. A number of SEL curricula exist. The studies presented in this review

investigated several evidence-based SEL curricula, including Promoting Alternative Thinking

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 6

Strategies (PATHS), Incredible Years, Responsive Classroom (RC), Success Highway

Resiliency, and INSIGHTS into Children's Temperament.  These curricula emphasize student

development of the five core competencies of social and emotional learning (SEL), previously

discussed.

Theoretical models of SEL curricula. SEL curriculum is rooted in both Urie

Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems theory as well as neuropsychological models (Durlak et

al., 2011). With regard to bioecological systems theory, SEL programs are embedded in larger

contexts, notably classrooms and schools, which have direct, indirect, and interactive influences

on children’s development (McCormick et al., 2015).  Being that SEL programs are also based

on neuropsychological models, they identify a neurological basis for the links between children's

emotional experience within stressful versus supportive environments and their social and

academic performance in those contexts (Zhai et al, 2015). Affective-cognitive models (such as

PATHS, Incredible Years, INSIGHTS and Responsive Classroom) suggest that young children's

regulation of their own emotions (as well as their responses to others’ emotions) may alternately

support or disrupt attention, working memory, and other prefrontal cortical processes central to

learning in the classroom (Anyon et al., 2016; McCormick et al., 2015; Rhoades et al., 2010;

Shonfeld et al., 2015; Zhai et al., 2015).

Salient Factors of SEL Curriculum Increasing Achievement

SEL Core Competencies

Studies have shown that curricula (e.g., PATHS, Incredible Years) which focus on the

five core skills of social and emotional learning (i.e., self-awareness, self-management, social

awareness, problem solving, and positive relationships) work in tandem to increase student
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 7

achievement (Denham et al., 2014; Durlak et al., 2011; Rhoades et al., 2011; Schonfeld et al.,

2015; Zhai et al., 2015).

Meta-analysis. Using a meta-analysis methodology, Durlak et al. (2011), analyzed 213

school-based, social and emotional learning (SEL) curricula involving 270,034 kindergarten

through high school students across the United States. This study focused exclusively on SEL

programs to examine their impact on student academic achievement. Academic achievement

was measured by grade point averages and standardized reading and math achievement test

scores, as reported by the included studies. Studies included in this meta-analysis were selected

based on the following criteria: (a) publication dates between 1970 and 2007, (b) implemented

curriculum emphasized the development of one or more SEL skills, (c) implemented curriculum

was taught by a teacher or trained staff, and (d) implemented curriculum followed a sequenced

step-by-step training approach, used active forms of learning, focused sufficient time on skill

development, and had explicit learning goals (Durlak et al., 2011).

The meta-analysis concluded that social-emotional competence building programs have

substantial effects on children’s academic success. They found that, on average, school-based

interventions contributed to an 11 percentile increase in standardized achievement test scores

(Durlak et al., 2011). Despite this, the meta-analysis results are limited in that follow-up

investigations are needed to confirm the durability of SEL program impact (Durlak et al., 2011).

Qualitative studies. The purpose of Denham at al.'s (2014) qualitative study was to

demonstrate how SEL skills directly and indirectly contribute to early school success, preschool

through kindergarten. The study followed 101 Virginia students, who received two-year

instruction (preschool through kindergarten) of an SEL curriculum, emphasizing all five

competencies (i.e., self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, problem solving, and

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 8

positive relationships). Academic information on this group of preschool students was obtained,

from teachers, via academic rating reports ranking aspects of student language, literacy, and

mathematical thinking, until the end of their kindergarten year. The study concluded that SEL

skills in preschool predicted academic readiness in kindergarten, which in turn predicted

kindergarten academic success (Denham et al., 2014). Furthermore, the study indicated that SEL

competencies matter, both individually and together, for early school success (Denham et al.,

2014). 

In general, SEL studies have provided support for associations between social-emotional

competence, broadly defined, and academic success; however, less is known about the

contributions of specific social-emotional skills to early academic achievement. For this reason,

one qualitative study, conducted by Rhoades et al. (2011), focused on the role of two specific

SEL competencies that impact early academic success: self- and social-awareness (emotion

knowledge). This study focused on these two SEL competencies because emotion knowledge

may represent an important early skill that fosters effective learning interactions, thereby

promoting academic success; however few empirical studies have examined this specific

association (Rhoades et al., 2011).

In the present study, 341 students, in a northeast urban school district received three-year

instruction (preschool through first grade) of an SEL curriculum, known as Promoting

Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS). Over the multi-year study, emotion knowledge was

assessed using child-based assessments and academic performance was assessed using the

Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Rhoades et al., 2011). The study's results

suggested that emotion knowledge was significantly associated with academic competence
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 9

(Rhoades et al., 2011).  That is, children with better emotion knowledge skills during preschool

were more likely to demonstrate increased levels of academic competence in first grade.

Strengths and limitations. The results of both qualitative studies (Denham et al., 2014;

Rhoades et al., 2011) support research on social-emotional competencies as among the most

important skills supporting early school success and the growth of academic competence during

elementary school. Despite this, the generalizability of the findings of both studies are limited in

that their samples were primarily African American and low-income students. Additionally,

both studies made use of self-rating reports to assess SEL, and therefore limitations associated

with traditional survey research are warranted. 

Randomized controlled trials. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT)

design, Zhai et al. (2015) conducted a four-year study with a group of Chicago students, which

began in their kindergarten year and lasted through the third grade. The goal of the researchers

was to compare the academic outcomes of children who had similar family background and

preschool experiences but received varying doses of SEL curriculum in kindergarten through

third grade (Zhai et al., 2015). In the sample of 414 students, 202 were included in the

intervention group and received a four-year SEL curriculum (i.e., Incredible Years, which

emphasizes SEL core competencies), and 212 were included in the control group which did not

receive SEL curriculum (Zhai et al., 2015).

The information related to the students' social-emotional and academic outcomes in this

study were collected from surveys conducted throughout the four years. The results of this study

found that students who received SEL curriculum in kindergarten throughout third grade

experienced higher rates of social-emotional and academic success overtime, as opposed to

students in the (non-intervention) control group (Zhai et al., 2015).

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 10

In a similar study, Schonfeld et al. (2015) conducted a four-year cluster randomized

controlled trial (CRT) with a group of 705 minority students from the northeast, which began in

their third grade year and lasted through the sixth grade. In this study, the researchers

hypothesized that the 356 students who received four-year SEL instruction (PATHS curriculum,

which emphasizes SEL core competencies) were more likely to achieve basic proficiency on

statewide achievement exams (ELA, MATH, Science), then their 349 counterparts in the (non-

intervention) control group (Schonfeld et al., 2015). As the researchers hypothesized, their study

concluded that the probability of students in the intervention group attaining basic proficiency

status on Math, Reading and/or Writing statewide achievement tests was significantly higher

than the probability of students in the control group, across the four years of the study (Schonfeld

et al., 2015).

Strengths and limitations. The results of both cluster randomized controlled trials (Zhai et

al., 2015; Schonfeld et al., 2015) support research on SEL curriculum's impact on skill

acquisition and school achievement of children with skill advantages gained from high-quality

early interventions. Despite this, both studies possessed several limitations: (a) almost half the

students in both studies were lost to attrition over the four-year intervention periods, (b) caution

must be used when generalizing the findings of these studies to lower-risk populations, and (c)

both studies failed to examine specific components of curriculum or social skills separately.

SEL Curriculum Implementation Fidelity

When SEL curriculum is brought into a school or classroom it is often delivered

fragmentedly and inconsistently coordinated, monitored, evaluated, and improved over time

(Kendziora & Osher, 2016). As such, it is likely to have reduced impact on student behavior,

and related academic achievement, and is unlikely to be sustained (Kendziora & Osher, 2016).
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 11

Two recent qualitative studies attempted to address this fragmentation by shifting the focus of

SEL curriculum onto implementation quality (Anyon et al., 2016; Kendziora & Osher, 2016).  

Qualitative studies. Anyon et al.'s (2016) qualitative study examined contextual

influences on SEL curriculum implementation fidelity and related academic achievement. The

study involved implementation of a whole-school curriculum called Responsive Classroom (RC)

in one urban kindergarten through eighth grade public school serving a diverse student body.

Data on three contextual influences: (a) intervention characteristics such as compatibility with

staff members’ beliefs about behavior change and management, (b) organizational capacity such

as principal and teacher buy-in, and (c) intervention support systems such as training and

technical assistance, was collected via teacher self-surveys and interviews (Anyon et al., 2016).

The study's results revealed that the presence of technical assistance was identified by

participants as the most meaningful factor in support of implementation quality, and related

academic performance (Anyon et al., 2016). The study also revealed that teacher buy-in differed

by grade level because middle school teachers felt that the implementation of RC strategies took

time away from teaching reading or math skills, alluding to pressures of test-based accountability

(Anyon et al., 2016). 

Kendziora and Osher's (2016) qualitative study shifted the focus of SEL curriculum

implementation fidelity from schools to whole districts. The study's sample included eight large

school districts, composed of thirty kindergarten through eighth grade schools and twenty-six

high schools. Each district was assigned a pair of SEL consultants who, provided ongoing

coaching and support at the district level to help districts: (a) cultivate commitment and

organizational support for SEL, (b) assess SEL resources and needs, (c) support classroom,

school-wide, and community SEL programming (e.g., providing stakeholder professional

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 12

development, adopting SEL standards, implementing SEL curriculum), and (d) establish systems

for continuous support (Kendziora & Osher, 2016). To measure the affect of districtwide SEL

implementation fidelity, teacher interviews and surveys were collected.

The timeline of this study spanned six years (2010-2016). To measure the affect of

districtwide SEL implementation fidelity on academic achievement, statewide achievement test

scores were collected and compared throughout the six year study. Overall, the study found that

all districtwide implementation factors positively influenced student academic performance;

although research on systemic district efforts has suggested that it takes 5-7 years to affect

student outcomes (Kendziora & Osher, 2016).

Strengths and limitations. Although schools are more traditional targets of intervention

(as in Anyon et al.'s study), districts may be a more appropriate focus for promotion efforts

because they are a key part of a school’s ecology and they offer the potential to help many more

children (Kendziora & Osher, 2016). Although both studies have provided evidence of the

significant influence that implementation fidelity has on academic achievement, they are not

without limitations. In both studies, teachers expressed pressures of test-based accountability

(e.g., the perspective that SEL distracts from rigorous academics and takes away the focus on

accountability and state tests). Additionally, in both studies, student data was anonymous so no

demographic information was made available. Lastly, the studies utilized teacher self-reports

(surveys) which are limiting, as they involve response bias.

SEL Curriculum's Influence on School/Classroom Climate

School-based efforts to promote and enhance social-emotional learning skills in

environments promoting academic motivation and positive teacher-student relationships, are

built on an understanding that academic success and better school performance emerge in the
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 13

context of supportive relationships and a positive school climate (Davis, Solberg, DeBaca, &

Gore, 2014). Three recent studies have linked student academic achievement with SEL curricula

designed to promote a positive school/classroom climate (Davis et al., 2014; McCormick et al.,

2015; Slaten et al., 2015).

Correlational study. A correlational study, conducted by Davis et al. (2014), linked

positive school climate as a factor of SEL that predicts academic success. Using a sample of

4,797 students from a large urban western school district, consisting of three annual cohorts

(from the years, 2007, 2008, and 2009), school climate data was measured via student self-

reported levels of academic motivation and social connections to teachers (Davis et al., 2014).

Data on academic performance, in the form of student grade point averages, was also collected

and compared. The study's results indicated that students who reported high academic

motivation and social connectedness, as a result of SEL implementation, made positive progress

towards high school graduation and those who reported less academic motivation and social

connectedness had dropped out of or failed more than 14% of their courses (Davis et al., 2014). 

Qualitative study. In a qualitative research study, Slaten et al. (2015) interviewed

fifteen teachers within a large urban public school district in an upper Midwest city.  The

purpose of the interviews was to understand the factors of positive school climate that SEL

approaches help to create, along with their affects on student academic achievement, through the

voices of school professionals. As a result, the researchers found that the most salient features of

SEL approaches related to positive school climate and academic success included: a culture of

respect, a focus on emotional intelligence (SEL competencies), and developing authentic

relationships between students and teachers (social connections) (Slaten et al., 2015). The

findings of Slaten et al. (2015) add to the existing literature which suggests that when students
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 14

experience authentic relationships with adults in school, they feel a stronger sense of belonging

to their school and are more likely to have improved grades and achievement motivation.

Randomized controlled trial. In a randomized controlled trial, McCormick et al. (2015)

examined whether key dimensions of school climate (i.e., leadership, accountability, and

safety/respect) moderated impacts of an SEL curriculum (INSIGHTS into Children’s

Temperament) on low-income urban kindergarten and first grade students’ math and reading

achievement. In the trial, half of the 435 participating students received two-year SEL

instruction (via INSIGHTS), and the other half did not, as part of the (non-intervention) control

group. School climate data was measured using teacher self-reports and student academic

achievement was measured using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (McCormick

et al., 2015). In comparing the data collected from reports and achievement tests, the study

found that SEL intervention effects on academic achievement were larger for students enrolled in

schools with lower overall levels of leadership, accountability, and safety/respect at baseline

(before the implementation of the SEL curriculum) (McCormick et al., 2015). Therefore, this

study concluded that dimensions of school climate moderated SEL curriculum impacts on

academic outcomes.

Strengths and limitations. The aforementioned studies (Davis et al., 2014; McCormick

et al., 2015; Slaten et al., 2015) add to the literature that suggest positive school climate is a

salient factor of SEL curriculum that predicts academic success. Despite this, the

generalizability of the results of these studies is limited by their small sample sizes, as well as

their use of self-reported data, which involves response bias.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 15

Discussion and Suggestions for Future Research

The literature compared and contrasted within this review investigated three salient

factors of SEL curriculum (i.e., core competencies, implementation fidelity, and promoting

school climate) that are related to increasing student academic achievement. Several studies

(including a meta-analysis, two qualitative studies, and two randomized controlled trials)

provided evidence suggesting that SEL curricula focusing on core competencies (skills)

significantly increase student academic achievement (Denham et al., 2014; Durlak et al., 2011;

Rhoades et al., 2011; Schonfeld et al., 2015; Zhai et al., 2015). Two additional qualitative

studies provided evidence of the significant influence that SEL curriculum implementation

fidelity has on academic achievement (Anyon et al., 2016; Kendziora & Osher, 2016). Lastly,

three studies (one correlational, one qualitative, and one randomized controlled trial) provided

evidence linking positive school climate as a factor of SEL that predicts academic success (Davis

et al., 2014; McCormick et al., 2015; Slaten et al., 2015).

Results from this review add to a growing body of research indicating that SEL

programming enhances students’ connection to school, classroom behavior, and academic

achievement. Despite this, the findings of the studies presented are limited by several factors,

including sample sizes and compositions, as well as data collection measures used.

The sample sizes (see Table 1) are relatively small across all the studies. Additionally,

the demographic and socioeconomic compositions of the sample sizes are rather homogenous,

representing mostly students of color from disadvantaged backgrounds. (Most studies identified

students as disadvantaged based on whether or not they qualified for free school lunch). Lastly,

the measures used in data collection were mostly in the form of self-reported surveys or
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 16

interviews (see Table 1), which are subject to responder bias. These combined factors limit the

generalizability of the studies' findings to various populations.

Consideration of these limitations provides suggestions for future research concerning

studies investigating factors of SEL curriculum that influence student academic achievement.

Samples used within future studies should include larger sizes from across the United States,

rather than singular schools or school districts such as those used by studies presented in this

literature review (see Table 1). Additionally, the demographic and socioeconomic compositions

of future studies' sample sizes should be more heterogeneous. These additions will make study

samples more representative of the US population, and thus, study findings could potentially be

more generalizable.

Additional suggestions for further research, in the field investigating factors of SEL

curriculum which increase academic achievement, include the need for: (a) follow-up

investigations, (b) standardized SEL skills assessments, and (c) studies on each of SEL's five

core competencies and how each specifically relates to academic performance. Follow-up

investigations, after studies are concluded, are necessary to confirm the durability of SEL

program impact on academic achievement (Durlak et al, 2011). Additionally, there is a need for

studies to focus on developing standardized assessments of SEL competencies, as such skills are

currently measured using only self-reports, surveys, and/or interviews (see Table 1), which are

subject to responder bias (Denham et al., 2014). Lastly, the studies analyzed in this review

focused on the combined impact of all five SEL competencies on academic performance. As

such, there is a need for future studies to focus separately on each of SEL's five core

competencies (i.e., self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, problem-solving skills,

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 17

and building positive relationships) to specifically identify how each influences academic

achievement (Rhoades et al., 2011).

In turn, these types of future research may provide better support for the federal, state,

and local SEL education policies and standards which are currently changing, in light of the

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (McCormick et al., 2015).

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 18

References

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schoolwide intervention to promote students' social, emotional, and academic learning.

Children & Schools, 38(2), 81-88. doi: 10.1093/cs/cdw008

Davis, A., Solberg, V., DeBaca, C., & Gore, T. (2014). Use of social emotional learning skills to

predict future academic success and progress toward graduation. Journal of Education for

Students Placed at Risk, 19(3-4), 169-182. doi: 10.1080/10824669.2014.972506

Denham, S., Bassett, H., Zinsser, K., & Wyatt, T. (2014). How preschoolers' social-emotional

learning predicts their early school success: Developing theory-promoting, competency-

based assessments. Infant and Child Development, 23(4), 426-454. doi: 10.1002/icd.1840

Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., Dymnicki, A., Taylor, R., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The impact of

enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based

universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-

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SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING'S IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT 20

Appendix

Table 1

Comparison of Literature Review Studies

SEL SEL
Research Sample
Authors Location Grade Curriculu Measures Factor
Design Size
m Studied

Anyon et
Qualitative - Urban K-8 RC Survey Fidelity
al., (2016)

Quantitative
Davis et al. Survey School
Correlationa 4,797 West HS SHR
(2014) GPA Climate
l
Interview
Denham et SEL
Qualitative 101 Virginia K - Academic
al. (2014) Skills
Rating Scale
Meta- Across Interview SEL
Durlak et 270,034 K-12 Various
Analysis US GPA Skills
al. (2011)

Kendziora Across Interview

Qualitative - K-12 Various Fidelity
& Osher US GPA
(2016)
Survey
McCormick School
RCT 435 Urban K-1 INSIGHTS Woodcock-
et al. Climate
Johnson III
(2015)
Interview
Rhoades et Pre- SEL
Qualitative 341 NE PATHS Woodcock-
al. (2011) K-1 Skills
Johnson III
Statewide
Shonfeld et SEL
RCT 705 NE 3-6 PATHS Achievement
al., (2015) Skills
Tests
School
Slaten et al. Qualitative 15 Midwest HS - Interview
Climate
(2015)
Survey
Incredible SEL
Zhai et al. RCT 414 Chicago 3-6 Academic
Years Skills
(2015) Rating Scale
Note. (-) = unreported data; SEL = social and emotional learning; GPA = grade point average.