Enhancing socioemotional competencies: protocol for a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial of a daily program for third graders and educators

Background: Over the past two decades, there has been a growing emphasis on noncognitive skills, particularly socioemotional competence (SEC), in educational research. The SEC encompasses personal characteristics such as motivation, personality traits, preferences, and values, which are shaped by both socialization and genetic influences. Socioemotional learning (SEL) is recognized as a key process through which individuals develop these competencies, impacting their academic and societal outcomes. The significance of the SEC is highlighted by neurobiological findings linking environmental factors to cognitive and behavioral outcomes, as well as economic research showing its positive effects on educational attainment, labor productivity, and civic participation. Methods: This research aims to evaluate the impact of a novel SEL program on third- and fourth-grade students and their teachers using a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. The program includes a daily manualized 10-min curriculum for students and an additional professional development component for teachers. The study’s objectives include examining its effects on students’ and teachers’ SEC and analyzing the program’s efficiency. The study will involve 30 schools in Chile that are randomly assigned to either the SEL curriculum, the curriculum with professional development, or a control group. The data will be collected through surveys at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Discussion: The evidence in the field shows almost no impact evaluations of programs supporting the socioemotional competencies of children in Chile and almost no evaluations of programs supporting the socioemotional development of teachers. This study will provide evidence for the effectiveness of an SEL program for children in the 3rd and 4th grades and their teachers. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06515444. Registered on July 22, 2024.