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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Social skills programs

Overview

  • Influence: Social skills programs
  • Domain: Curricula
  • Sub-Domain: Other curricula programs
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to accelerate
  • Influence Definition: School-based programs for developing students' social skills. The programs teach students to appropriately interact and communicate effectively with their peers and teachers and develops respect for self and for others.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 11
  • Number of studies: 569
  • Number of students: 190,208
  • Number of effects: 2,376
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.48
  • Robustness index: 5

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology Denham & Almeida Children's social problem-solving skills, behavioral adjustment, and interventions: A meta-analysis evaluating theory and practice 1987 Social problem solving programs 70 NA 70 0.62
Dissertation Hanson, Moyano, & Cortés-Pascua Social skill training: a critical meta-analytic review 1988 Social skill training 63 NA 586 0.65
School Psychology Review Swanson & Malone Social skills and learning disabilities: A meta-analysis of the literature 1992 SS of learning disabled and non-disabled students 39 3,944 366 0.72
Clinical Psychology Review Schneider Didactic methods for enhancing children's peer relations: A quantitative review. 1992 Enhancing peer relations 79 NA 12 0.19
Journal of Learning Disabilities Kavale & Forness Social skill deficits and learning disabilities: A meta-analysis 1996 SS of learning disabled and non-disabled students 152 NA 858 0.65
Learning Disability Quarterly Forness & Kavale Treating social skill deficits in children with learning disabilities: A meta-analysis of the research 1996 SS with learning difficulties 53 2,113 328 0.21
Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation Villares, Frain, Brigman, Webb, & Peluso The impact of student success skills on standardized test scores: A meta-analysis.  2012 Student success skills program 5 1,279 5 0.29
Child Development Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Schellinger & Taylor The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions 2011 Social and emotion interventions on achievement 35 135,396 35 0.34
Dissertation Goldston A meta-analysis of social skills literature: elementary children 2000 Social skill training 22 NA 95 0.46
European Journal of Psychology of Education Goldberg, Sklad, Elfrink, Schreurs, Bohlmeiier, & Clarke Effectiveness of interventions adopting a whole school approach to enhancing social and emotional development: A meta-analysis. 2019 Whole school approach to social and emotional development 45 35,453 8 0.19
Education Sciences Quílez-Robres, Moyano, & Cortés-Pascual Motivational, Emotional, and Social Factors Explain Academic Achievement in Children Aged 6–12 Years: A Meta-Analysis. 2021 Social skills 6 12,023 13 0.43
TOTAL/AVERAGE 569 190,208 2,376 0.43
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