Abstract
The preschool years presents an important opportunity to support children’s social and emotional development. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in early childhood education and care (ECEC) have gained an increased interest due to its potential to improve child health and educational outcomes. We aimed to identify existing systematic reviews on universal, curriculum-based SEL interventions in ECEC settings (children aged 0 to 7 years), assess their risk of bias, synthesize the findings and identify knowledge gaps. We undertook a systematic literature search in seven different databases. Reviews of studies without control groups were excluded. Each abstract and full text article was assessed independently, and disagreements were solved in consensus. Relevant reviews were assessed for bias using the ROBIS tool. Of 4912 records identified through database searches, two systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria. Both reviews were assessed as having a high risk of bias. The results were used to summarize existing knowledge and knowledge gaps. In conclusion, SEL interventions in preschool settings must be considered knowledge gaps. There is a need for more high-quality primary studies and further systematic reviews that adhere to strict scientific methods and address the overwhelming heterogeneity in field, in terms of interventions, settings and outcomes.
Highlights
Over the last decades, a vast amount of research has been accumulated worldwide regarding social and emotional skills development in children
The main finding of this study is that very few systematic reviews has been published with a focus on the effects of universal social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions on the social and emotional competence of young children in ECEC settings
The two identified reviews and their primary studies suffer from a number of scientific weaknesses and risks of bias leading us to the conclusion that the area must be considered a knowledge gap
Summary
A vast amount of research has been accumulated worldwide regarding social and emotional skills development in children. The importance of these skills, sometimes referred to as non-cognitive skills, “soft” skills or character skills, to promote a healthy overall development is emphasized in numerous studies (e.g., Durlak et al, 2011; Jones et al, 2015; Bierman et al, 2016; Domitrovich et al, 2017; Eklund et al, 2018). Childhood is a pivotal period for the development of social and emotional skills (Jones and Bouffard, 2012; McClelland et al, 2017). It is vital to provide children with an environment, i.e., family, school, social and cultural contexts, where they feel safe and secure in order to contribute to the social and emotional development (Yates et al, 2008; McClelland et al, 2017)
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