Is Early Intervention Forever? The Educational Returns from Socio-Emotional Skills Training
Institute of Economics
Date: 26 March 2019 / 12:15 - 13:15
We study the long-term effects of a randomized control trial targeting socio-emotional skills in 8-year-old primary school children. The intensive one-year, teacher-run training program which was integrated into the curriculum leads to a large and persistent boost of educational careers that remains visible a decade after the intervention. Treated children become 16 percent more likely to complete academic high school, the highest secondary school track in Switzerland. We present evidence that these results are mainly driven by (1) improvements in social and school related behavior and (2) an increase in math and language skills.
The paper is joined work with Giuseppe Sorrenti.
Ulf Zölitz
Assistant Professor at the University of Zurich
