The causal impact of socio-emotional skills training on educational success

Arbeitspapier

We study the long-term effects of a randomized intervention targeting children's socio-emotional skills. The classroom-based intervention for primary school children has positive impacts that persist for over a decade. Treated children become more likely to complete academic high school and enroll in university. Two mechanisms drive these results. Treated children show fewer ADHD symptoms: they are less impulsive and less disruptive. They also attain higher grades, but they do not score higher on standardized tests. The long-term effects on educational attainment thus appear to be driven by changes in socio-emotional skills rather than cognitive skills.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 343

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Field Experiments ; Analysis of Education ; Education and Inequality ; Returns to Education ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: Socio-emotional skills ; randomized intervention ; child development ; school tracking

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Sorrenti, Giuseppe ; Zölitz, Ulf ; Ribeaud, Denis ; Eisner, Manuel
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): University of Zurich, Department of Economics
• (where): Zurich
• (when): 2020

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.5167/uzh-186453
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/216844
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET