Impact of a schoolwide social and emotional learning implementation model on student outcomes: The importance of social-emotional leadership

What does the research say?

This publication from the Journal of School Psychology investigates the impact of the CASEL School Guide, a model for implementing systemic social and emotional learning (SEL), on elementary students’ development. The study, a randomized controlled trial in high-poverty urban schools, compared schools using the School Guide with those implementing the PATHS SEL program with standard support. Findings indicate that the School Guide was particularly beneficial in schools where staff initially perceived lower levels of social-emotional leadership, leading to improved student social-emotional competence, attention, and reduced aggression in those contexts. However, the School Guide’s implementation did not significantly affect academic achievement or the fidelity of the PATHS program itself across all schools.

Why is it important?

The study revealed a consistent three-way interaction between time, intervention condition, and baseline leadership support. Specifically, in schools with low baseline levels of social-emotional leadership, students showed greater gains in social-emotional competence and attention skills when their school received the School Guide support model. Similarly, aggressive behaviors decreased more rapidly in School Guide schools with initially low leadership support.

This research highlights the importance of targeting implementation support models to schools that need them most – particularly those lacking strong social-emotional leadership. Rather than providing the same level of support to all schools, the findings suggest resources should be strategically allocated to schools where leadership capacity for SEL is initially lower, as these environments may benefit most from comprehensive implementation frameworks.

The study contributes valuable insights to the growing field of implementation science in education, demonstrating how systemic approaches to SEL can enhance student outcomes when tailored to specific school contexts and leadership capacities.

What are the implications for education?

Based on the study, there are several important implications for education:

1. Targeted Implementation Support: Resources for implementing SEL programs should be strategically allocated to schools with low leadership support for SEL, as these schools showed the greatest gains from comprehensive implementation frameworks like the CASEL School Guide. This suggests a more nuanced approach to school improvement rather than one-size-fits-all models.
2. Leadership Development: The findings highlight the critical importance of developing principals’ and administrators’ capacity to support SEL initiatives since leadership support was a key predictor of student outcomes. Educational systems should invest in professional development specifically aimed at building school leaders’ understanding of and commitment to SEL.
3. Systems Approach: Rather than focusing solely on classroom-level interventions, the study demonstrates the value of developing schoolwide approaches to SEL that create environmental conditions promoting SEL through school culture, shared language, and integration across all aspects of school functioning.
4. Implementation Science in Education: The study reinforces the importance of considering implementation factors beyond program fidelity. Even when implementation of the PATHS curriculum was similar across conditions, other factors like school culture and organizational capacity influenced student outcomes, suggesting educators need to pay attention to the broader context in which programs are implemented.
5. Resource Allocation: For educational policymakers and district leaders, the findings suggest that schools with initially lower capacity for SEL leadership may require more intensive support systems to achieve positive student outcomes, which has implications for how SEL initiatives are funded and supported at scale.

These implications reinforce the need for a comprehensive approach to social and emotional learning that addresses both classroom implementation and broader school leadership and organizational factors.

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