Yale study finds some social-emotional lessons improve kids’ performance in school
Cipriano also leads the Yale Education Collaboratory, whose mission is “to advance the science of learning and social and emotional development.”
The academic gains from SEL in this 2025 paper are much smaller than the 11 percentage points documented in an earlier 2011 meta-analysis that summarized research from 2007, before SEL became widely available in schools. Things have changed now. More than 80% of K-12 school principals say their schools are using SEL curriculum in the 2023-24 school year, according to a survey by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the RAND Corporation.
The Yale researchers studied only a small portion of the SEL market, programs that were rigorously evaluated and included academic results. Three-quarters of the 40 studies were randomized controlled trials, similar to pharmaceutical trials, in which schools or teachers are randomly assigned to teach SEL lessons. The remaining studies in which schools or teachers volunteered to participate still had student control groups so that researchers could compare the academic performance of students who did not receive SEL instruction.
The SEL program in the Yale study teaches a wide range of soft skills, from mindfulness and anger management to conflict resolution and goal setting. It’s unclear which soft skills are driving academic progress. This is an area for future research.
“From a developmental perspective, when we think about what we know about how children learn, emotion regulation is really the driving force,” Cipriano said. “No matter how good the curriculum, the math program or the reading program is, if a child feels insecure, anxious, stressed, frustrated or embarrassed, they are not going to receive instruction, no matter how great the teacher is.”
Cipriano said effective planning gives students the tools to cope with stressful situations. She provides an example of a quiz from a student’s perspective. “You can realize that I’m feeling nervous and my blood is rushing to my hands or my face, and I can use the strategy of counting to 10, thinking about what I know, and using positive self-talk to regulate in order to be able to take the test,” she says.
The strongest evidence for SEL is in elementary schools, where most assessments are conducted (two-thirds of 40 studies). For younger students, SEL lessons tend to be shorter but more frequent, such as 10 minutes a day. There is less evidence for middle school and high school SEL programs because they have not been studied as much. Typically, preteens and teens have less frequent but longer sessions, ranging from half an hour to 90 minutes per week or monthly.
Cipriano said schools don’t need to spend “a lot of time” on social and emotional instruction to see academic benefits. The current trend is to incorporate or embed social and emotional learning into academic instruction, such as as part of math classes. However, none of the basic studies in this article evaluated whether this is a more effective way to deliver SEL. All programs in this study were individual SEL courses.
Advice for schools
Schools are awash with sales pitches from SEL vendors. Estimates of the market’s size vary widely, but six market research firms estimate it exceeds $2 billion per year. Not all SEL programs are necessarily effective or can be expected to produce the academic outcomes calculated by the Yale team.
Cipriano advises schools not to be fooled by sly marketing. Many effective programs have no marketing at all, and some are free. Unfortunately, some of these programs have been terminated or transitioned through changes in ownership. But she said school leaders can ask what specific skills SEL programs claim to develop, whether those skills will help the district achieve its goals, such as improving school climate, and whether the program has been externally evaluated.
“School districts have been investing in those bells and whistles across content areas, not just SEL,” Cipriano said. “It may have never had an external evaluation, but it has a very good social media presence and very good marketing.”
Cipriano also launched a new website, Improvestudentoutcomes.org, to track the latest research on SEL effectiveness and help schools identify proven programs.
Cipriano said parents should also ask questions. “Parents should be partners in learning,” Cipriano said. “I have four kids and I want to know what they’re learning in school.”
This meta-analysis may not deter SEL critics who argue that these programs force educators to become therapists. Groups like Liberty Moms, which is holding a national summit this week, say teachers should stick to academics. This article rejects this dichotomy because it shows that emotions, social interactions, and academics are all interconnected.
Educators and parents need to consider the evidence before criticizing all SEL programs.
