Generalizability of Social Emotional Learning Programs to Racially Diverse Students: A Comprehensive Review

Introduction: Many evidence-based social emotional learning (SEL) programs have been shown to be effective at improving school behavior, attitudes towards school, and academic performance (Durlak et al., 2011, CASEL, 2013), but it is unknown whether available evidence on SEL intervention efficacy is generalizable to racially diverse student groups. Researchers have noted there is little representation from communities of color in intervention trials, and have questioned whether the existing evidence on efficacy extends to these communities (Aisenberg, 2008; Cardemil, 2010; Mak, et al., 2007). Since SEL programs are primarily implemented in schools, many of which serve racially diverse student bodies, knowledge of intervention effects for diverse student groups is critical, especially given the known disparities in academic and behavioral outcomes for students of color.

Methods: This comprehensive review aims to systematically evaluate the generalizability of SEL interventions by examining the degree of representation of racially diverse students in SEL trials and what is currently known from published literature on the extent to which the existing evidence base for SEL interventions show intervention effects for different racial groups. Studies were drawn from the Collaborative on Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) guide on evidence-based SEL preschool and elementary school programs. All peer reviewed articles that reported on student outcomes from the preschool and elementary school CASEL SELect list of evidence-based SEL programs were reviewed (CASEL 2013). Since many interventions were replicated across different sites with new samples, trials of interventions were selected as the unit of analysis, leading to an N of 45.

Results: Overall, students in SEL trials were 34.1% White, 15.7% African American, 16.1% Hispanic or Latino, 4.9% Asian American, 1.7% Native American or Native Hawaiian, 3.4% “other,” 3.7% “minority,” and race was unknown for 20% of students. Forty percent of trials included a majority of students of color. Five trials incorporated students from primarily one racial group, intervention effects are generalizable to similar students. Four of these trails included nearly all students of color. Twenty percent of trials did not report on whether or how they accounted for race in their analysis; 47% of trials reported that they matched the intervention and control groups on racial composition. Twenty nine percent included race as a covariate in intervention analyses, and it was significant in many cases. Eight trials reported on moderation of intervention effects, many found significant race interactions but did not report results. Two trials tested racial subgroups for intervention effects, but both had analysis flaws, making interpretation of their results impossible.

Implications: Conclusions about generalizability of SEL programs to students of color are limited since few studies examined differences in intervention effects by race and many were constrained by issues of low power, unspecified analysis strategies, or incomplete reports of interaction test results. Thus, we have little evidence as to the effect of SEL programs on educational disparities for students of color.