[Summary] Rethinking Learning: A Review of Social and Emotional Learning for Education Systems; Summary for Decision Makers

The publication, titled “Rethinking Learning: A Review of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for Education Systems” was worked upon from 2018 to 2020. The purpose of this publication was to review the latest research on SEL and to present scientific evidence for why SEL is key to education, and by that corollary, to achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 4, Target 7 that focuses on building peaceful and sustainable societies through education.

This summary, aimed at decision makers, synthesises and integrates the main findings, challenges and recommendations from the eight chapters of the full Review. The key questions that guided the Review were: (i) What constitutes an SEL intervention; (ii) Why and when SEL interventions are necessary; (iii) The science and evidence supporting SEL interventions; (iv) How can SEL be implemented; and (iv) The cost and benefits of SEL interventions.