What does the social and emotional learning interventions (SEL) tell us? A meta-analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis study aimed to examine the effects of 51 social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions conducted in Turkey between 1997 and 2021. The results were discussed under three categories: social-emotional skills, externalizing problems, and internalizing problems. The effects of the interventions were investigated in terms of eight moderator variables: intervention format, types of measurement, experimental design, educational level, average age, percentage of females, number of sessions, and duration of sessions. The findings showed that SEL interventions in Turkey improved students’ social-emotional skills [ES(SE) = 0.81(.10), 95% CI (0.60 - 1.03)] and significantly reduced their externalizing [ES(SE) = 0.78(.18), 95% CI (0.41 - 1.14)] and internalizing problems [ES(SE) = 0.95(.19), 95% CI (0.57 - 1.32)].