BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1554001
This article is part of the Research TopicImplementing Mental Health Prevention and Promotion Programs: A Sustainable Approach - Volume IIView all 17 articles
Pilot Evaluation of a Socio-Emotional Learning Program on Executive Functions in Elementary School Students: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial
Provisionally accepted
- 1CUF Descobertas Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal
- 2Universidade Lusíada, Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- 3Center for Research in Psychology for Positive Development, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal
- 4Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
- 5Colégio São José de Bairros, Lousada, Portugal
- 6Agrupamento de Escolas Irmãos Passos, Matosinhos, Portugal
- 7University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE), Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
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Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs aim to enhance children´s socio-emotional competencies. While research has highlighted the positive socio-emotional outcomes of SEL programs, their transfer effects on executive functions remain unclear. This pilot cluster-randomized controlled trial explored the impact of a SEL program – The Intergalactic World – on executive functions in a cohort of first to fourth-graders. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 60; 26 girls; Mage = 94.95 months, SD = 15.53), which participated in the SEL program, or to a waiting list control group (n = 36; 19 girls; Mage = 111.62 months, SD = 6.80). The SEL program comprised eight sessions conducted in a school setting to enhance socio-emotional development through breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, guided imagery, and cognitive-behavioral strategies. Executive functions were assessed for both groups using a standardized questionnaire, with evaluation conducted before and after the program implementation by teachers and caregivers. Pre- and post-intervention assessments revealed no significant changes in executive function scores based on teacher ratings across groups. In contrast, caregiver ratings of executive functions showed a significant interaction effect between time and group, with the intervention group exhibiting a positive change over time compared to the control group. Results yield valuable insights into the potential benefits of SEL interventions concerning elementary school students' executive functions.
Keywords: Social and emotional learning (SEL) program, elementary school, socio-emotional competencies, executive functions, intervention study
Received: 31 Dec 2024; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Antunes, Carneiro, Joaquim, Matos, Alexandre and Filipe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marisa Filipe, Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
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