2-021 - Impacts and moderators of school-based social-emotional learning programs in low- and middle-income countries

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Children living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience multiple risk factors (Black et al., 2017), and learn little despite being in school (Sandefur, 2016). School-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs can improve learning, particularly for at-risk children (Durlak et al., 2011), yet evidence comes nearly exclusively from high-income stable countries and such programs are rarely implemented in LMICs. Furthermore, very few studies have considered how contextual characteristics moderate the effectiveness of SEL interventions. This symposium will present rigorous evidence on SEL interventions from three LMICs, and address how contextual characteristics moderate program effectiveness.

The first paper presents impacts of a classroom-based SEL program in Brazil on students’ social-emotional and vocabulary outcomes, and examines the degree to which intervention effectiveness varied based program dosage and ecological characteristics such as community violence. The second paper tests the impacts of two classroom-based SEL interventions in conflict-affected Niger targeting mindfulness and executive function to improve children’s academic and social-emotional outcomes. Results provide some of the first rigorous evidence for effectiveness of SEL programs in supporting displaced children’s development. Finally, the third paper presents long-term impacts of a preschool teacher training intervention designed to increase child-centered and play-based pedagogy in Ghana, focusing on impacts one- and two-years post intervention as children begin primary school. The paper focuses on which school and classroom characteristics promote sustained gains in child social-emotional outcomes.

Together, these papers address several gaps in the literature on school-based SEL programs and highlight the role of SEL programs in promoting child development globally.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• Sharon Wolf, University of Pennsylvania

Discussant

• Abbie Raikes, University of Nebraska - Medical Center

Individual Presentations

• Um compasso para aprender: Evaluating the impact of a social-emotional learning program in Brazilian primary schools - Presenting Author: Dana McCoy, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Emily Hanno, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Vladimir Pinheiro Ponczek, São Paulo School of Economics; Non-Presenting Author: Cristine Campos de Xavier Pinto, São Paulo School of Economics; Non-Presenting Author: Gabriela Fonseca, São Paulo School of Economics; Non-Presenting Author: Natália Zanetti Marchi, São Paulo School of Economics; Non-Presenting Author: Wendy Wei, Harvard University

• Promoting Children's Social Emotional Learning in Conflict-Affected Settings: Evidence for Action in Niger - Presenting Author: Ha Yeon Kim, Global TIES for Children, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Lindsay Brown, Global TIES for Children, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Mayari Montes De Oca, Global TIES for Children, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Jeannie Annan, International Rescue Committee; Non-Presenting Author: Lawrence J. Aber, New York University

• The role of primary school contexts in supporting sustained long-term impacts of the Quality Preschool for Ghana intervention - Presenting Author: Sharon Wolf, University of Pennsylvania; Non-Presenting Author: Lawrence J. Aber, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Jere R. Behrman, University of Pennsylvania