Current SEL Projects

SEL Research Synthesis/Meta-analysis: With funding from the W.T. Grant Foundation and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Mental Health, Dr. Roger P. Weissberg, and Joseph Durlak, professor of clinical psychology at Loyola University Chicago, direct the meta-analyses of more than 700 positive youth development, SEL, character education, and prevention interventions. This the largest, most scientifically rigorous, and up-to-date review of controlled outcome research on interventions that promote children’s social and emotional development to date. The review includes school, family, and community interventions designed to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 18. The reports developed thus far from this review have looked at the impact of SEL programs on students' SEL skills, attitudes toward self and others, positive social behavior, conduct problems, emotional distress, and academic performance. Results from the review of universal school-based programs will appear in a special upcoming issue of the journal Child Development (issue TBD).

The Positive Impact of SEL for Kindergarten to Eighth-Grade Students: Findings from Three Scientific Reviews (2008)
Executive Summary (pdf) | Full report (pdf)

The Impact of After-School Programs That Promote Personal and Social Skills (2007)
Executive Summary (pdf) | Full report (pdf)

SEL Program Review: The SEL Research Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) have received funding from the NoVo Foundation to conduct and make broadly available to educators an updated review of and guide to school-based SEL programs. We are currently accepting evaluation reports of school-based SEL programs from programs wishing to be considered for inclusion in this new review. Please see our Call for Evaluations for more information about this new review and the submission process. We anticipate completing this review in 2011.

SEL Assessment: Early Childhood Social and Emotional Assessment: This three-year collaborative effort is being co-directed by Dr. Roger P. Weissberg at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and Dr. Susanne Denham of George Mason University, and is co-sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Kirlin Charitable Foundation, the Rauner Family Foundation, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The primary objective of this project is to identify, develop (where necessary) and disseminate information to educators and policy-makers about state-of–the-art assessment strategies for the social, emotional, and academic learning of preschool and elementary-school students.

State Scan of Preschool to High School SEL Standards and Policies: The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the UIC SEL Research Group have received funding from the Buena Vista Foundation to conduct a review of education standards relevant to SEL from early childhood through high school in all 50 states. The goal of the review is to understand how and under what conditions effective SEL policies and standards are developed. Dr. Roger P. Weissberg at UIC and his research team, including Graduate Assistant Amy Mart and Senior Research Specialist Jessy Z. Newman, are collaborating with Dr. Linda Dusenbury to complete this two-year effort. Information gained from this project will assist education policy leaders in developing and supporting effective SEL standards and policies across the country.