This guide is the product of a detailed content analysis of 18 evidence-based middle and high school SEL programs. Research was conducted by the Ecological Approaches to Social and Emotional Learning (EASEL) Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The publication provides comprehensive program profiles and cross-program analyses of programs. The project builds on and extends work done for previous guides.

New Coding System

Researchers first identified a total of 18 programs for inclusion based on five inclusion criteria, such as “includes lessons and activities that fall within the middle and high school age range” and “has a primary focus on SEL or a related field.”

Researchers then coded program lessons for which skills they target and which instructional methods they employ, using a coding system developed and refined over the course of multiple projects. A team of coders read through each program’s curricular materials to capture:

• Which of the 24 SEL skills across seven broad domains of SEL were targeted in each lesson
• Which instructional methods were used to do so

A separate coding system was used to describe the extent to which program lessons aligned with best practices for equitable SEL. There was a standardized process to collect and summarize information about high-level program features and evidence of effectiveness.

Using these data, researchers created detailed program profiles. They summarize each program’s domain focus, instructional methods, and program features/components. Researchers also conducted a cross-program analysis to highlight key areas of overlap and variation across programs.